Killer Instincts
by Crystal Maygin
Summary: They say instinct is an inborn intuitive power. Those that come from light bare the instincts of protection, but what of those from the dark? From one monster to another, we bring you… Killer Instincts.
1. Making New Friends?

Killer Instincts

Chapter 1: Making New Friends?

This story started off as an RP between a friend and myself which has been going so well that we've decided to put it up on fanfiction for others to read. This will be an ongoing story chalk full of angst, mystery, adventure and all of that good stuff.

Disclaimer: We don't own Bleach, or claim to own the plot/characters. The original plot and characters however belong to us. Axel belongs to MaskedxMayhem (co writer).

* * *

It was a beautiful day outside, but the orange haired teen was oblivious to this as he stared out the window in a daze, images of his dream from the night before running through his mind. He could only remember bits and pieces but the little he did remember disturbed him greatly, and he couldn't help but doubt himself, although he didn't understand why.

"Good morning Kurosaki-kun!" Greeted his redheaded classmate, and friend, Orihime. When he didn't respond right away, she couldn't help but frown ever so slightly with worry. It became rather obvious that something was bothering him and at that moment she noticed that the young Quincy, Uryu Ishida had arrived.

"Good morning Uryu!" She greeted while heading over to him.

"Morning Orihime." The Quincy replied, fixing his glasses and taking his seat. Orihime glanced to Ichigo briefly before looking back to Uryu and speaking in a low voice.

"I think something's bothering Kurosaki-kun. He didn't say anything when I greeted him... But I don't know if I should ask him about it. He might not tell me even if I do ask... What do you think Uryu?" She asked while giving him a questioning look, concern written all over her face. Uryu nonchalantly opened up a book and cleared his throat.

"He's gone through a lot recently, we all have." He paused. "With the way he copes with things, I'd say there's nothing to worry about. Give him time and if he really wants to talk about it, he will." He said in a calm voice, flipping through the book. Orihime took a moment think over his words then nodded slightly.

"You're right." She gave him a warm smile.

"Thanks Uryu." She said before going to take her seat. Although, she couldn't help give one more worried glance toward Ichigo.

"All right everyone, take your seats." The teacher announced as she arrived. Once everyone was seated and quiet, she continued speaking.

"We have a new student joining the class today." She announced with false enthusiasm.

"You can come in now" She said, addressing the new student who stood just outside the door. Moments later and a boy who stood at about 5'7'' walked into the classroom. Shaggy blonde hair fell in unkempt layers about the boy's face. The most peculiar thing about the boy however, was the large scar that ran jaggedly over his left eye. The scar left his eye slightly narrowed and a lighter shade of blue then his other. He took a moment to scan the room before glancing at the teacher as if waiting for her to say something.

"Go ahead and introduce yourself to the class." She said, nodding toward the group of students.

"The name's Axel." He said simply, in a very French accented Japanese, then turned back toward the teacher and added, "Where do I sit?"

The teacher took a quick glance around the room before pointing to the seat next to Ichigo.

"Why don't you take a seat there next to Kurosaki."

Axel nodded in response and made his way to the open seat, flopping down into it ungracefully.

"All right then, let's begin for the day." And with that the teacher began the lesson.

About halfway through the class she decided to ask one of her students to answer a question, and the one she picked happened to be the one who was paying the least attention.

"Kurosaki, do you know the answer?" She got no response.

"Kurosaki?" She snapped.

"Kurosaki!" She slammed her book down on her desk to get his attention, and instantly Ichigo snapped out of his stupor.

"Huh? What?" His brilliant dialogue caused many of his classmates to snicker lowly.

"Kurosaki... Have you not been paying attention to the lesson? Considering how much you miss class wouldn't it make it that much more important to pay attention while you are here?" The teacher said with an annoyed sigh.

"Umm..." Ichigo wasn't sure how to respond as he rubbed the back of his head. At that moment his combat badge chose to go off to alert him of a hollow appearing in town somewhere.

_'Perfect timing...'_ He couldn't help but think.

"Sorry, bathroom break." Is all he said before he rushed out of the room, which only caused the teacher to sigh in annoyance once more before continuing the lesson.

Axel glanced to the side when he heard a strange noise go off, watching curiously as the orange haired boy snatched the object and took off.

_'Wonder what that was all about.' _He thought as something black and orange darted across the lawn outside and caught his attention for a brief moment.

xXxXx

Around lunch time Ichigo finally arrived back at school and joined his friends on the roof. He moved over to where they were all sitting around and chatting, before taking a seat quietly and pulling out his food.

"You were gone a while." Chad was the first one to say something, earning an immediate annoyed sigh from the orange haired teen.

"The damn hollow kept hoping all over the place. We were half way across town before I finally got the stupid thing." Ichigo spotted something out of the corner of his eye, when he glanced that way he saw a teenager he didn't recognize.

"Hey, who's that?" He asked the others, nodding in the blonde's direction.

Axel was too busy fumbling around his pocket for his lighter to notice the group of other kids on the roof. With a bent cigarette pinched between his lips, he finally found the small silver rectangular object and lite the cigarette. He took a long drag and relaxed against the wall behind him, shoving one hand into his pocket and pulling the cigarette away from his lips with the other. He let out a slow breath, watching as the smoke lazily drifted upward before disappearing as he let his head flop back to the wall.

Uryu casually pushed his glasses further up the bridge of his nose as he was often seen doing and answered Ichigo's question."I suppose you were too lost in your own thoughts to realize we got a new student today."

Ichigo couldn't help but blink slightly at the young Quincy. "We did?" He asked somewhat dumbly.

"Yes." Uryu replied simple, taking a bite out of his sandwich.

"Oh..." Was all the orange haired teen could think to say at first. "What's his name?"

"Axel." Was all Chad said in reply.

"Huh..." Ichigo once again glanced over to the new student.

"Hey Axel," He called out to the other teen. "Why don't you come sit with us?"

Axel glanced over at the group at the sound of his name "Hmm?" He took another drag of his cigarette.

"Why should I?" He questioned in a monotone voice, smoke drifting out of his mouth as he spoke.

Ichigo couldn't help but raise a slight eyebrow, not quite able to tell if the new kid was giving him an attitude or not.

"I was just trying to be nice, whether or not you accept the offer is your choice."

The blonde turned his head slightly, eyeing the orange haired teen with his good eye for a moment.

"Then I decline" He answered simply, taking another drag of his cigarette.

"What would be the purpose?" He questioned more to himself then anything.

"... Changing from one position to another when there is no objective" He stated under his breath, trying to figure out the other's motives.

"Purpose? How about spending some time with your classmates to get to know them better, is that purpose enough for you?" The orange haired teen couldn't help but answer with a slightly annoyed tone.

"No" Axel said in that same monotone voice.

_'… He did say socializing would be good for me, and he did want me to make friends, I just don't see the reason behind it. Can't I simply observe people my age to learn how their... How I'm supposed to act? What difference does it make if I interact with them; I can learn just as well by simply watching and beside the point, it isn't like I plan on being here long.'_ He couldn't help but think, finding this whole situation pointless.

"What would be the benefit?" He questioned.

"To make friends for one." Ichigo answered with a slight sigh.

"Friends." Axel repeated in a low voice.

_'I still don't fully understand the concept. It's supposedly something someone my age is supposed to have; someone who you trust, who you talk to and 'hang' out with... Whatever that means..' _

"I have no need for friends." He said, speaking the truth, or at least what he believed to be the truth.

_'I wonder if I ever had a friend before, and why I am so different from these people. Is it possible that it's because of where I'm from? Perhaps there, where ever it is, they don't have friends...' _He mused, letting his cigarette drop to the ground before he stamped it out.

"Have you ever had friends before?" The orange haired teen couldn't help but ask as he eyed the new student with a mixture of slight curiosity and mild annoyance.

"No" The blonde replied, opting for the easier answer. At least he was sure he never had friends, otherwise why would the concept seem so foreign to him.

Uryu eyed the new student but decided not to say anything just yet and simply watched the interaction between the two; more so keeping his eye on the orange haired teen, watching him closely.

"Then how do you know you have no need for them?" Ichigo couldn't help but question with a deep frown before continuing.

"You can't say you need or don't need something unless you try it first." Some time ago, the orange haired teen himself had once been not too fond of the idea of making friends. But some of his first real friends found him and he quickly learned that he actually rather enjoyed the company.

"Or have you already tried making friends before?" He was quick to add that last question in after his previous comment.

"It's simple. I get along fine without friends, why would I need them?" The blonde questioned in return, unsure of why the other was making such a big deal about this and wishing he'd just get off his back and leave him be.

Ichigo let out a heavy sigh as he scratched his head. "Whatever... Have it your way." He replied in obvious agitation, having grown tired of trying to convince Axel into giving friendship a try. For a brief moment he went from scratching his head to gripping it slightly before moving his hand entirely.

"So what kinda accent is that?" He decided to ask instead as a way to change the topic.

"French." Axel replied simply, fiddling in his pockets once more before pulling out another cigarette and placing in between his lips.

"Why are you so persistent in talking to me?" He questioned in that same low monotone, lighting the cigarette as he spoke.

"Let's just say I'm curious." The orange haired teen replied with a slight smirk. He was actually starting to find it rather amusing to bother the other teen and it did help him to forget his own problems, at least a little bit.

"You know," The blonde started to say, taking a long drag and letting the smoke out in one large puff.

"I came out here to be alone." He said, taking another hit and placing one of his hands in his pocket.

"Not to be bothered by a group of annoying children." He stated lowly.

"Children?" Uryu said, finally speaking up after having stayed silent for so long.

"Excuse you, but you are same age we are." He said defensively.

"In body, perhaps, but age is just a number and what I see before me are mere naive children." The blonde said and Ichigo couldn't help the fact that the smirk on his face grew a bit bigger.

"So what? Does that mean that mentally you're an old man?" He said in a slightly mocking, slightly joking way.

"Do you forget like one too?"

Axel tensed a bit at the orange haired teen's words, as they hit a chord the other wasn't aware of.

"What?" He questioned through gritted teeth, dropping his unfinished cigarette and crushing it underfoot as he turned his full attention on the orange haired teen. Chad couldn't help but glance to Uryu due to Ichigo's odd behavior.

Meanwhile, the orange haired teen's smirk grew slightly larger.

"I'm sorry, did I hit a nerve?"

Axel growled under his breath, his nails digging into the palms of his hands.

"Do you find enjoyment in aggravating others?"

"Unless the person really deserves it, no not normally, but you happened to get me on a bad day." Ichigo admitted honestly with a shrug of his shoulders.

"Besides, I tried to be nice in the beginning. You're the one who started with the attitude."

"I didn't start anything." Axel denied, becoming more and more agitated for seemingly no reason.

"I simply declined your offer; it was you who kept bothering me." He stated with a growl.

"So a simple conversation equals bothering to you?" The Substitute Shinigami couldn't help but shake his head slightly as he spoke his next words. "And they call me antisocial..."

Axel scoffed in spite of the orange haired teen's reply. "Just your voice is bothering to me." He said in a low voice.

"It sounds like you swallowed something, an orange perhaps?" He sneered, his voice becoming one of hatred and even mock. The blonde didn't understand why, but every word that escaped the other teen's lips only caused his temper to rise.

"It would explain why I can't understand any of the fruity, sentimental shit about friendship coming out of your mouth." He said in a low voice, tilting his head slightly.

"It would even explain the color of your hair." He added in a very snarky tone, a sideways smile tugging at the corner of his lips at the other's expression.

"So why don't you do me a favor and go back to your fruit basket, orange head. You're starting to give me acid reflux."

In an instant, Ichigo was on his feet and had closed the distance between himself and the blonde haired teen. He grabbed Axel by the front of his school uniform jacket and pulled him close to the point where they were only mere inches apart.

"Give me one good reason why I shouldn't just knock your ass out right now..." He said in a low angry voice.

"You can try." Axel said in a low, almost whispered voice. In the blink of an eye he had managed to slip out of his jacket, and to wrap it around Ichigo's arm. He seemingly appeared behind the orange haired teen, using the jacket to twist the other's arm around his back, somewhat surprising himself in the process.

"Ichigo…" Uryu spoke up in a warning voice, knowing that if the hot head were pushed too far he may end up doing something to severely injure the new student. However, the Quincy's voice did not register in Ichigo's mind.

"What the hell?!" The orange haired teen snapped in slight surprise. He then quickly spun around as well as an attempt to untangle and pull his arm away from the other teen. Axel smirked, enjoying the other's puzzlement.

"What? Did you expect me to simply stand there and take a beating?" He questioned, using the jacket to pull the orange haired teen forward before elbowing him in the gut, bringing his fist down, keeping his elbow in place and hitting him in the nuts before slamming the back of his fist into the other's face. He spun around the orange haired teen, pulling the jacket free of the other teen's hand and wrapping it around his own while getting into a defensive stance.

"Don't make the first move unless you plan to make a second." He stated in a low voice.

Ichigo stumbled back a couple of steps and move done hand to grip his face while the other gripped his crotch. He took in a couple of deep pain filled breaths as he collected himself.

"Fuck..." He couldn't help but mutter in pain and anger. But he rapidly collected himself and took on a fighting stance.

"Oh, it's on now..." The orange haired teen stated seconds before charging at his target. He swung his right fist with all the speed and strength he could muster as he aimed right at Axel's face.

Axel brought up the hand with the shirt wrapped around it and used it to block the punch. Though he was barely quick enough to get there in time and the force of the blow sent him stumbling back a bit.

Using the momentum from his swing, the orange haired teen quickly spun himself around while bringing up his leg in a roundhouse kick which was aimed at the blonde's left side.

Axel side stepped in an attempt to dodge the kick but wasn't fast enough. Though the orange head landed the kick spot on, the blonde didn't show any sign of it. He recoiled quickly, eyes narrowed down on the other teen, swinging a fist in his direction.

Ichigo easily dodged around the fist then struck back by swinging his left fist toward the right side of Axel's chest.

As Ichigo's fist connected with the blonde's chest, he staggered backward. Moments later and he took a ragged, forced breath inward which resulted in him coughing. Tiny red droplets splattered the concrete and the blonde gripped at his chest while grabbing for the wall for support. He gritted his teeth and grunted when an intense, overwhelming pain started up in his chest after the dull initial pain of the actual impact. It felt like he had been stabbed and a sharp blade was tearing at the walls of his chest.

Initially the orange haired teen couldn't help but smirk thinking that he had gotten the better of the other teen. What Ichigo didn't realize was that he had done more damage than he thought, but due to his bad mood he didn't notice it right away.

"Ichigo," Uryu spoke up in a serious tone, trying to gain the other's attention.

"I think you've seriously hurt him." He said as he stood up, trying to intervene, knowing that with his strength it was possible that he did more damage than what he thought.

The blonde took another shaky breath inward, the feeling of liquid entering his lungs causing him to cough again; this time the droplets of red which painted the ground were thicker. A panic started up in the pit of his stomach as he recognized the feeling. He moved his hand away from his chest, rubbing his fingers together to find that they were damp. When he looked down at his chest a small spot of dark red could be seen seeping through the fabric and his eyes widened slightly at the sight.

"Shit…" He cursed under his breath, leaning more into the wall for support when his head began to spin.

Ichigo's eyes widened as both Uryu's words and the scene before his eyes registered in his mind. "Fuck..."

He then heard an all-too-familiar laugh that sent chills down his spine. It was followed shortly by the one voice he had no desire to ever hear.

_'You severely injured a kid for pissing you off and you think I'M a monster?'_

A hand instantly flew to Ichigo's face as all his focus quickly went to pushing the one within back. It took but a moment, as if 'he' simply just wanted to taunt the Substitute Shinigami. Right after that the orange haired teen quickly moved to Axel's side in order to help support him. He gave the blonde a quick look over before quickly coming to a decision.

"I'm taking you to my families' clinic." He stated abruptly and then turned his gaze to his friends.

"Mind covering for us?"

Dots began to dance in the blonde's eyes as the pain only increased and the spot of blood on his shirt continued to grow in size. He tried to pull away from the orange haired teen, his hand slipping from the wall as he staggered back a bit but managed to keep himself from falling over by regaining his hold on the wall. He closed his eyes for a moment and took a slow breath in and let it out just as slowly.

'_Deeper breaths will only make it worse, but shallower breaths will only make me more light headed' _He thought, having been through this once before. Though he only vaguely remembered what it was like, something in the back of his mind was telling him that he needed to stay calm or he'd only cause more damage.

"First you attack me…" He coughed, "Then you try and help me?" He questioned lowly between breaths, not wanting any help from him, but another wave of intense pain, causing him to suck in a sharp breath reminded him that he needed help.

Uryu eyed the orange haired teen for a moment, his eyes flickering from the blonde and back to Ichigo.

"Don't worry, we can handle it here."

"Thanks Uryu…" The orange haired teen said before looking back to Axel.

Ichigo couldn't help but frown deeply in concern. "I'm helping because it was MY fault to begin with... So don't argue and let me help." He stated before he carefully wrapped an arm around the injured blonde.

"Now come on." He said as he began to gently pull Axel along.

"Fine…" Axel grunted, agreeing to go along. Not that he wanted anymore to do with this fruit basket of a teen but he knew he wouldn't last long without help, and his survival instincts told him it was the better choice.

Soon enough after a very quiet walk the pair arrived at the Kurosaki Clinic and Axel could clearly see the name on the sign above the door. Without hesitation, Ichigo headed inside and wasted no time in bringing the injured teen to one of the beds.

"Dad! Get your ass in here! We have a patient!" He called out as he glanced around for the overly active man.

Axel sat down on the bed although reluctant. He blinked a few times when his vision blurred momentarily, keeping a hand clutched over his chest.

Mere seconds after the yell, Isshin came bursting into the room and quickly pushed the orange haired teen out of the way. "What's the injury?"

"I... I'm not completely sure..." Ichigo couldn't help but admit.

"Is... Is there anything I can do to help?"

"Sit in a corner and stay out of my way." The man stated bluntly and the orange haired teen couldn't help but dropped his head at that before doing as instructed.

"Let's get that shirt off." Isshin stated as he moved to help Axel take his shirt off.

Axel couldn't help but eye the man suspiciously before complying and pulling his shirt off, grunting in pain when he did. Once the teen's shirt was off, a mostly bandaged torso which was littered with scars of various shapes and sizes along with a few still healing bruises could be seen.

"You sure you know… What you're doing?" He questioned through shallow breaths, not trusting the man.

"Of course I do, I'm a trained doctor." The man stated in a serious voice as he eyed the wrappings.

"You were injured prior to this?" He questioned the teen as he moved to take off the wrappings.

"Yeah…" Axel admitted, coughing for a moment before speaking up again.

"Gunshot wounds, all went clean through but this one" He said as a way of explanation, keeping a close eye on the man as he worked, although he could feel himself becoming weaker by the second.

The orange haired teen couldn't help but frown deeply upon hearing his classmate's words followed shortly by that all-too-familiar voice returned to his mind, speaking with a mocking tone.

_'Nice going! You beat up an injured person! Hope you feel better!'_ The one from within said with a slight mocking laugh. Ichigo tried to ignore it, but he knew it was true and that made him feel all the worse.

"I see." Isshin was in the process of saying, as he removed the last of the bandages and took a good look at the injury itself.

Axel coughed again, this time spitting up more blood then the last. He shut his eyes against the pain for a moment and held his breath, before exhaling slowly.

"Think... You can help?" He questioned.

"Of course I can help." The man said with much confidence.

"Just relax and let me do my job." He instructed as he gently pushed the teen into a laying position upon the bed. Then Isshin quickly moved to retrieve the instruments he would need. Axel did as he told and laid back against the bed, though he was still wary of his surroundings.

Upon closer inspection, Isshin found the problem; a stray bullet fragment that had lodged itself in the teen's chest cavity. The blonde had managed to stay lucid throughout most of the procedure but once the man had removed the fragment, the pain became too much for him and he was out cold.

xXxXxXx

Hours later the blonde woke with a groan. He blinked a few times and slowly sat up. For a moment he had forgotten where he was and scanned the room suspiciously, but when his eyes landed on the orange haired teen, the recent events came back to him and the panic left him. He looked down to find his chest had been rebadged, and a sense of déjà vu washed over him briefly.

"Ah, you're awake." Came the friendly voice of Ichigo's father as he happened to enter the room just then.

"How are you feeling?"

Axel glanced over at the man when he heard his voice.

"Well I don't feel like I'm dying anymore if that's what you're wondering." He replied in a slightly sarcastic tone, then sighed when he realized just how rude it sounded and he lowered his gaze.

"Thanks."

Despite the teen's tone just a moment ago Isshin smiled brightly.

"You're welcome!" Then he took on a bit more serious manner as he continued to speak.

"I was able to remove the bullet shard from your chest safely. From the looks of it, it might have been lodged deeper than it was when I found it. Would I be right to assume that the shard was left in there for that reason?" He questioned the teen.

"Uhh…" Axel scratched at the back of his head a little sheepishly.

"... Yeah..." He admitted, and then a realization hit him.

"Wait then when you found it..." He trailed off, trying to put the pieces together.

"So, you're saying that it moved?" He questioned, eyebrows furrowing for a moment.

"That's right; my guess is whatever happened to reopen your wound must have caused it to move. And if that shard was where I thought it to be, then you're extremely lucky that it moved the way it did. Too much far in any other direction and my son might of not have gotten you here in time to be saved." As he spoke the man glanced over to the orange haired teen, who was currently asleep in a chair nearby.

Axel too glanced over at the teen, musing over what Isshin had told him.

"Did he... Stay in here the whole time?" He questioned, wondering just why he was so interested in helping him.

The older man couldn't help but chuckle slightly. "That he did. Ichigo might act like a tough guy most of the time, but deep down he has a gentle and caring heart." When Isshin spoke he spoke with such pride.

"He could never stand by when someone's in need of help."

"I see…" Axel replied in a monotone voice.

"... Tell him I said thanks." He said, moving to hop off the bed.

Before Axel had the opportunity to do anything he felt a firm hand on his shoulder.

"And where do you think you're going?" Isshin questioned in a slightly disapproving way.

"Home." He replied in a low voice, lying through his teeth. Who was he kidding, he didn't have a home to go back to, but he didn't want to be stuck here in such a feeble condition with people he didn't know and in a place he was unfamiliar with.

"I'm sorry, but I can't let you leave until your condition improves." The man said firmly with a shake of his head.

"Not to mention, I discovered the start of an infection while I was working. So it's not a good idea for you to be moving around too much until its better. That reminds me..." He moved over to some shelves nearby and took a bottle off of one of them. He then took two pills from bottle before placing it back on the shelf. Isshin then grabbed a glass of water that had been sitting nearby before coming back over to the teen.

"Take these." The man instructed as he held out the medicine and the drink. Axel stayed quiet for a moment before taking the offered meds and water.

"An infection?" He questioned before settling back down on the bed and taking the medicine.

_'...The old man might get worried about where I am, I don't think it'd be such a good idea to leave him in the dark like this.'_ He couldn't help but think, feeling a little guilty about leaving the man out of the know like this, after all, he did save his life and he owed him that much.

"Isn't there a way I can go... Home and just come back for checkups or something?" He questioned. As much of a rock as the blonde was when it came to emotions, he couldn't help the slightly guilt ridden look that crossed his face momentarily.

"I'd rather you stay here so I can easily monitor your condition. If you give me your home phone number I can call for you and let your parents know what's going on." Isshin stated, it was clear he was not going to change his mind about this matter.

"Uhh..."Axel trailed off, scratching at the back of his head sheepishly as he set the empty glass down.

"... That's not necessary." He paused, going silent for a moment.

"I'll just stay here then." The blonde decided in a low voice.

The teen's hesitation did not go unnoticed. "It probably would be best to let your parents know so they don't worry about where you are."

"It's fine." The blonde replied in just as low of a voice.

_'Even if I wanted to let him know what's going on... I don't have his number.'_ He couldn't help but think.

Isshin couldn't help but frown slightly at the response. "Not on good terms with your parents?"

"What?" Axel questioned immediately, trying to think of something to tell him without giving away too much about his condition, not wanting any of it to be used against him.

"N-no that's not..." He trailed off when a flash of memory danced across his eyes. He shook his head to push the images and voices away.

"That's not it, it's just…" He tried again but faltered his still somewhat hazy mind unable to think quickly enough.

_'What the hell am I supposed to tell him?'_

"It's all right." The man said abruptly.

"You don't have to tell me anything. After all, I'm just a weird doctor guy that you just met today." Axel could tell from the tone in his voice that Isshin wasn't serious.

"Besides, you might find it easier to talk about such things with those your age." He gave a sudden amused chuckle then thumbed toward the dozing teen.

"Like my good for nothing son over there." And once again it was obvious he wasn't serious.

"And what makes you think that?" The blonde shot back.

"I want nothing more to do with you people then staying here until your satisfied so I can leave." He said, his tone gaining more of an angry edge to it than before.

"All right… All right... You don't have to tell anyone anything you don't want to." Isshin was quick to reply with as he rubbed the back of his head.

"I have a feeling that you're not on the best terms with Ichigo." He said in a much more serious tone.

"That's an understatement." Axel scoffed in reply.

"I see... And I'm guessing that the trauma that reopened your wound also had something to do with Ichigo." It was obviously a statement not a question.

"No shit." Axel said with an unintended growl, sending a hateful glare at the orange haired teen when the feelings of annoyance and anger toward the other came back.

"I'm sorry my son caused you so such trouble. But look on the bright side; thanks to him I could safely remove the bullet fragment. And thanks to him we learned about the infection before it could become life-threatening." Isshin pointed out as he too looked toward the sleeping teen.

"And I certainly wouldn't hold it against you if you decided to take a shot at him sometime. But I recommend not to do it when he's sleeping."

Axel narrowed his eyes down on the man. "I'm not one for cheap shots" He replied simply.

Isshin smiled greatly at that. "And that's a very honorable thing." Then a slightly mischievous smirk crossed his face.

"Do you wanna see why you shouldn't attack Ichigo in his sleep?"

"Uhhh..." Was the only reply the blonde could think of, unsure of what he should say, or what to think of that question.

"Watch..." He said simply as he stepped back as far as he could. It was almost as if the man was preparing for a running start.

_'Is this guy crazy? He's really going to attack his own son?!' _The blonde couldn't help but think as he watched the man dumbly.

Isshin began running. "GOOD..." Once he picked up speed he jumped putting both feet forward and aimed toward the orange haired teen's head.

"MORNING..." Suddenly Ichigo snapped awake and quickly assessed the situation. "ICHIGOOOO!"

In an instant Ichigo slid out of the chair and onto the floor, while simultaneously swinging his one leg up. The kick was perfectly timed as it connected with the older man's back and sent Isshin flying face first into the ceiling. The orange haired teen then quickly rolled out of the way as his father came crashing to the floor. Ichigo stopped in a crouched position a few feet from the man. He stayed like that for just a moment before picking himself up and glaring down at his father. "What the hell?!"

Isshin laid on the floor where he landed, his leg twitched a bit. "Well done... My son..."

"What the hell is wrong with you?!" The orange haired teen went on to say.

"You know in a NORMAL family, the father doesn't go around randomly ATTACKING his kids!"

"I have nothing more to teach you..." Isshin went on to say, showing no sign that he had heard his son. And all Ichigo could do was sigh heavily in response as he lifted a hand to scratch his head.

The blonde sat there staring at the two dumb founded. He opened his mouth to say something, but he faltered and shut it once again.

_'What the fuck... Is wrong with these guys?'_ He couldn't help but think with slight annoyance.

_'First Itch a goat or whatever his orange headed name was attacks me at school, on my first day no less... and then... And then this?! They're completely insane! I can't believe I let that maniac operate on me... and then talk me into staying here!'_

At that moment, Ichigo seemed to realize that his fellow classmate was awake. "Hey..." He greeted somewhat hesitantly.

"Sorry for any stupid things my father may have said or done."

All of a sudden, Isshin appeared just behind Ichigo's right shoulder. "Why must you say such cruel things about me?!"

Without missing a beat, the orange haired teen swung his closed hand up and back. The back of his fist slammed right into the man's face, which caused Isshin to stumble back a couple of steps as he grabbed his nose.

"So how are you feeling?" Ichigo asked, acting as if he didn't just punch his father square in the face.

Axel blinked a few times, not quite sure of what to say.

_'These people are utterly insane...'_ He thought, wanting to just up and leave, but something kept him from doing just that. It was safe to say that the infection was what was keeping him there, but whether known by the blonde or not, he was also a little curious... Despite being a bit disturbed by the family.

"Fine." He answered in a simple monotone after remaining silent for a bit.

Ichigo nodded his head ever so slightly, then he remained quiet for a few moments. "I'm sorry about earlier..." He apologized solemnly, his gaze to the floor.

"I've been in an off mood lately, but that's no excuse for what I did..." The orange haired teen trailed off unsure of what else to say.

"Forget about it." The blonde dismissed the other.

_'I don't need some fucking sob case feeling sorry for me...'_ He thought a bit bitterly.

"Besides, it wasn't like you were the only one in the wrong. I was being an ass and I got what I deserved." He said with a shrug, hoping the orange head would drop the apologies.

"I guess." The orange haired teen said with an ever so slight frown. Then he held out his hand toward his fellow classmate.

"Why don't we put it all behind us and start fresh, what do you say?"

"… Alright, sure" Axel agreed with a sigh, taking the offered hand after pausing for a moment.

Ichigo gave a slight nod as he shook hands with the blonde before releasing his grip. Then abruptly his head was shoved forward and down as his father forced him into a bow. "If you really feel that bad then you should find a way to repay him!"

"O... Oi!" The Substitute Shinigami couldn't help but snap as he tried to pull away from the man's grip.

"Might as well just suck my dick if you feel that bad about it." The blonde spoke up in a sarcastic tone, before crossing his arms.

"Look. What's done is done" He said, his tone becoming serious this time.

"Pain really doesn't bother me." He said, though he couldn't help from passing out earlier due to lack of oxygen, blood loss, fatigue and yes, pain.

"So there's really nothing to feel bad about. So enough with the apologies…you're starting to piss me off again." The blonde concluded.

Father and son stopped in mid action to stare at the teen, both unsure of what to say. They exchanged a silent glance before looking back to Axel.

"Are... Ah... Are you hungry Axel?" Ichigo questioned, the only hint of a reaction to Axel's earlier statement was his slightly red cheeks. And it was also obvious he was trying to change the subject.

"Sure." Axel replied simply.

"I'll... Ah... I'll go get you something..." The orange haired teen stated before quickly departing from the room.

Isshin watched his son leave with a slight confused frown as he rubbed the back of his head. Then he put his focus back on Axel.

"I'll have Ichigo bring you some clothes after you've eaten so we can get your school uniform washed up for you. That way you'll have something clean to sleep in, all right?" The man asked with a friendly smile.

The blonde simply nodded in reply.

"Thanks... For all of this." He said in a low voice, though he still wasn't too fond of the idea of staying with strangers, not that he hasn't had to before.

"Don't mention it." Isshin replied with a smile as he gave Axel's shoulder a quick pat.

"Helping others is what we do here at the Kurosaki household. If at any point you need anything just ask." The man informed the blonde before turning and heading out of the room.

xXxXx

Later that night Ichigo returned to the room that Axel was staying in with a bundle of clothes. He stopped just outside the closed door and gave a quick knock.

"It's me." He said simply to let the one inside know who was there.

Axel looked up from his spot and eyed the door for a moment.

_'I could have probably made a break for it when he left... So why didn't I? Why do I feel so compelled to stay here?' _He couldn't help but think with a sigh.

"You don't have to knock you know, this is your house." He spoke up after a moment.

The Substitute Shinigami opened the door at that moment and came in with a slight frown upon his face.

"Yeah and you're currently a guest so it would be rude not to." He answered in reply as he set the clothes down on a table next to the bed.

"Here's a clean pair of pajamas you can wear until your clothes are clean."

"Thanks." The blonde replied, moving to stand up.

_'I don't understand why he's being so... Courteous? After all I said earlier... And besides that, what does it matter that I'm a 'guest', I'm just a stranger and this is their home.'_ He thought, pausing for a moment once he was standing.

_'How can they be so trusting? They have no idea who I am... For all they know I could be a thief or even worse.'_ He thought, shooting a glance at the orange haired teen before looking over at the pile of clean clothes.

"It's the least I can do," Ichigo replied with a shrug.

"Considering your clothes got bloody because of me."

"It's nothing I'm not used to." Axel replied automatically, his eyes widening slightly when he'd realized what he said.

_'Why... Did I say that?' _He thought to himself, pushing away from the bed and walking over to the bedside table.

_'I don't understand some of the things that I even say, and it kind of scares me... But it comes automatically and it seems so natural until I... Until I actually realize what I said. I need to pay more attention to these automatic responses... They could be clues.'_ He mused, shaking his head and forcing a half and almost sheepish smile.

"That's not what I... I meant that it's really not that big of a deal." He said, trying to cover up his last statement and hoping the other would brush it off as well.

The frown on Ichigo's face grew a bit bigger.

"You get into fights a lot too?" He questioned with a slight bit of curiosity.

"Too?" Axel echoed, turning his back on the orange haired teen, eyeing the clothing for a moment.

"Do you mean you get into a lot of fights?" He asked, averting the question. The blonde's torso was mostly covered in white bandages but what could be seen of his back was just as scarred and even more so than his front side. There almost wasn't an inch of his skin that wasn't marred by scars, but the one's that stuck out most were the thick lines that crisscrossed his mid and upper back.

Ichigo's eyes widened slightly at the sight then he frowned deeply as he answered Axel's question. "A lot more when I was younger, but yeah. A lot of the upperclassman had a thing against anyone who stood out in any way and they certainly weren't fond of my hair color. Most of them thought that I dyed it to stand out more."

"You mean you didn't?" The blonde questioned with a slight smirk, glancing back toward the other teen momentarily before facing back the other way. Without another thought he slipped his pants off, revealed legs; although toned, were just as scarred as the rest of him.

"Haha... Very funny... For your information, this is my natural hair color..." The Substitute Shinigami replied with. Then he went to say more but his mind went blank the moment that Axel removed his pants. Ichigo stared dumbly for a moment, then shook his head to collect his thoughts.

"Woah! What are you doing?!" He was quick to say as he turned his back on the other teen, his face slightly red.

"Changing." The blonde replied in a simple monotone.

"That is why you brought me clean clothes is it not?" He questioned, glancing back at the other, slightly confused at his reaction.

_'What? Has he never seen another guy naked? I don't get what the problem is, we're both guys, we have the same body parts, what's so embarrassing about it?'_ He couldn't help but think as he finished stripping before throwing on the clean clothing.

"Well... Yes... But you don't go around changing in front of other people! Especially those you barely know...!" The orange haired teen was quick to say in reply.

"I don't see your point." Axel said in reply, now fully clothed.

"We're both guys after all, so what's there to be embarrassed about?"

"I..." He faltered and he wasn't sure why.

_'He does kinda have a point... Why AM I so embarrassed by this?'_ For a brief moment he thought he heard the sound of laughter from deep within but he shook it off.

"Whatever..." He settled with saying, unable to come up with any logical explanation.

"Are you done changing?" Ichigo asked with a frown since he still had his back to the other teen.

"Yeah." The blonde said, crossing his arms.

"You can turn around now."

The orange haired teen glanced over his shoulder slightly to verify before fully turning to face the other. "Right... Anyway... You'll be staying in my room while you're here."

Axel eyed the other for a moment before answering.

"What's wrong with staying in here?"

"My dad's got it in his head that it would be more comfortable for you in an actual room with an actual bed instead of the beds we have here in the clinic half of the building." Ichigo replied with a shrug of the shoulders. "He's already gone and set up the spare bed in my room."

Axel shrugged.

"I don't see much of a difference but if that's what he wants..." He trailed off.

_'Guess I'll just have to play along if I want this to go over as smooth as it can…'_

"Neither do I really." The orange haired teen replied in agreement.

"But the old man's stubborn so sometimes it's best just to do what he wants, saves one from a lot of headaches. Anyway, the bed is all set up so might as well use it." He said with another shrug then motioned for Axel to follow as he moved to head out of the room.

"Come on, my room is this way."

Soon enough and they had made their way to Ichigo's room. It was a simple set up with a wooden floor, a single closet, and one window. It was simply furnished with two beds, a basic desk and chair, and one dresser. But one of the drawers to the dresser was open slightly and Axel could spot what appeared to be the head of a stuffed toy of sorts.

"The bed is right there." The orange haired teen was the process of saying as he sat down on his bed.

"I see." Axel said in a slightly annoyed tone. He raised an eyebrow when he spotted the stuffed toy and he walked over to the dresser, his curiosity getting the better of him.

"Isn't this a bit childish?" He questioned as he pulled the stuffed toy out of the drawer by its ear.

Ichigo glanced over and couldn't help but raise his eyebrows when he spotted Kon in Axel's grip. He walked over and grabbed the mod soul by the tail, pulling him away from the other teen's grip.

"Oh, this? This belongs to my little sister Yuzu. She must have been playing in my room earlier and left it here." He replied without hesitation as he moved over to his closet. The orange haired teen then opened it and tossed the toy inside while saying.

"I'll give it back to her later." He gave a quick warning look to Kon before sliding the door closed.

"You have a sister?" Axel questioned, seemingly dismissing the children's toy and taking a seat on the guest bed.

"Actually I have two." The Substitute Shinigami said in reply as he sat back down on his own bed again.

"… Oh..." Was all Axel said in reply, fidgeting in his spot a bit.

"Is something wrong?" Ichigo asked with a slight bit of concern when he noticed the blonde fidgeting a bit.

"Hmm?" Axel glanced up at the orange haired teen.

"No... Nothing's wrong." He said in reply, giving the other a forced half smile.

Ichigo observed him for a moment before speaking. "It must be hard spending the night with those that you barely know... Hey Axel... Can I ask you a question?"

"Heh... You have no idea…" The blonde said under his breath.

_'I barely know anyone... Hell I barely even know myself…'_ He couldn't help but think a bit solemnly before shaking off the thought and turning his attention back on the other.

"What's that?"

"Well, I was wondering... Are you a foreign exchange student? Or did your family move here?" He finally asked the question that had been on his mind since lunchtime.

The blonde narrowed his eyes at the question. He opened his mouth to speak but stopped when he heard laughter in the back of his mind.

_'Poor poor wittle confused boy... Perhaps you'd understand if you only listened to me!'_ The voice yelled angrily, causing the blonde's eyes to widen momentarily before they narrowed down once again.

"And what the fuck would you know?" He growled under his breath in a low voice.

_'A lot more then you obviously.'_ Came the snarky response from the unknown voice.

_'You aren't real... Just another hallucination... So go AWAY!'_ He thought, pinching the bridge of his nose, and somehow it worked and the voice was gone. He shook his head for a moment and lay back against the bed with a sigh.

"... I guess could you could say I'm a foreign exchange student." He said, finally answering Ichigo's question.

The orange haired teen couldn't help but frown deeply as he carefully observed the other teen's actions. "I see." He said simply before pulling the covers back and settling down into bed.

"We should probably get some sleep; it is rather late after all." With that being said he clicked off the light on his desk.

"Night Axel."

"Yeah... Night" The blonde said with a bit of a sigh as he turned his back on the orange haired teen.

Roughly two hours later Ichigo began to twist and turn in his sleep. He was currently trapped deep within a repeating nightmare that had plagued him for the last month or so. He couldn't actually remember all the details whenever he woke up, but he knew it involved his hollow. And at that moment his mind was replaying that dreadful nightmare.

The blonde was exhausted and his entire body ached, though it was frighteningly easy to ignore. He didn't know when the last time was that he had gotten a full night's sleep, but every time he shut his eyes, red blanketed his vision. He yearned for the deep blissful unconsciousness that sleep gave, but he was also afraid of it. He was afraid of finding that brief nirvana only to wake and realize everything all over again. So he lay there. As much he hated it, he lay there and stared at the darkness which was the ceiling and wondered. Wondered who was out there that worried about him, that missed him but more so IF there was anyone out there who did worry about him.

It's only been a week but it was eating him alive not knowing if he had a family out there that was worried sick about him, and strangely enough he felt guilty that he was possibly the reason for someone else's grief. What worried him most however, was the cold hard fact that he knew there was someone out there hunting him. He hadn't a clue of who it was or why, but someone wanted him dead; his gunshot wounds were perfect evidence of it, and he wanted to know why. So, as much as it killed him to do so, he sat there and stared at the ceiling despite how badly he wanted to find the answers to his many questions.

The sound of Ichigo moving around in his sleep, although subtle, drew him out of his thoughts and he glanced over at him. His eyebrows furrowed in confusion for a moment and he watched the other dumbly, not really knowing what to do.

As the minutes past the orange haired teen's movements became more frantic and violent. He also began to mutter in his sleep and Axel was able to pick up small phrases here and there, such as 'get out of my head' and 'I'm not a monster'. But most of the things he was saying were too low for the other to hear.

A slightly concerned look crossed the blonde's face when Ichigo's tossing became more violent.

"Ichigo?" He questioned a bit hesitantly.

The Substitute Shinigami continued on as if he'd never heard the blonde. His thrashing reached a new level of violence until he abruptly snapped up while crying out. "Leave me alone!" And fell off the bed thereafter.

Ichigo then proceeded to lie on the floor and stare up at the ceiling blankly as he tried to collect his breath and piece his memories together.

Axel blinked a few times, and opened his mouth to say something but he faltered when he found he was at a loss of what to say.

"Are..." He started out, still trying to wrap his exhausted mind around what just happened.

"... You ok?"

"Wha...?" Came Ichigo's brilliant vocabulary as he snapped back to reality. He pulled himself up into a sitting position while turning his head to stare at Axel in surprise for a moment. The look of realization crossed the orange haired teen's face as he remembered that the other would be staying for a few days.

"Oh... Ah... Nightmare..." He said in way of explanation as he rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. "Sorry... Did I wake you?"

"No you didn't." Axel replied simply before speaking up again.

"... You get them too huh?" He questioned, easily picking up that this wasn't an ordinary nightmare, but closer to the kind that he experienced.

"I..." The orange haired teen faltered for a moment then collected his thoughts.

"I've been getting these bad nightmares for the past month and half... Sometimes it gets so bad that I only get an hour or so of sleep... Part of the reason why I've been so easily angered lately... Another excuse I know..." Ichigo shook his head slightly before finally picking himself up. He gripped the sheets that had been pulled off with him and put them back in place before sitting down upon the bed.

"You get nightmares a lot too?" The orange haired teen couldn't help but question curiously with a frown.

"Yeahh..." Axel admitted in a low voice.

"Most of the time they're night scares but I guess I've been on edge lately from lack of sleep as well." He said with a shrug.

Ichigo couldn't help but chuckle ever so slightly. "I guess we're both just thickheaded stubborn teens who are lacking a good night of sleep." He couldn't help but say in a slightly teasing way.

"Guess so." Axel returned with a slight smirk though it couldn't be seen in the dark, it faded just as quickly.

"So... What are these night scares like? If you don't mind me asking that is... "The Substitute Shinigami questioned with a curious frown.

"Uhh... well." Axel started out, unsure of what to say.

"… I'm not too sure how to describe it, they aren't all the same, but there's always this... Voice..." He trailed off.

"It's... Taunting in a way…"

"I can relate to that one..." Ichigo couldn't help but say with a sigh as he scratched his head slightly.

"Mine is a repeating one but every time more seems to be revealed, not that I really remember much once I wake up... But there is this guy that's always there... Taunting me... Insulting me..." He trailed off, unsure of what else to say.

"Really?" The blonde asked with slight interest.

"...It's almost like he... It, whatever it is knows something I don't, and it's almost as if... If it enjoys rubbing it in my face that I don't know…" The blonde trailed off, wondering if he continued, maybe he'd learn more about this from the other, but at the same time, leaving out anything about his real problem.

"Seriously?" The orange haired teen couldn't help but question in slight surprise.

_'Is he like... Is he more like me than I thought?'_ He couldn't help but think.

"It's actually pretty much the same for me as well... Except with mine, sometimes there's this very angry tone to it..."

"Like their blaming you for something you haven't done?" Axel couldn't help but ask, becoming more curious by the minute.

"More like blaming me for something that I did but can't seem to remember..." Ichigo said in reply with a heavy sigh.

"Can't... Remember..." Axel repeated.

"... That's what it… He kept saying..." The blonde said in a low voice, a little astonished and slightly weirded out.

"Really?" The orange haired teen questioned with a deep frown, having overheard the other.

Axel stayed silent for a moment, narrowing his eyes in the others direction, not expecting him to have heard that.

"… Yeah..." He admitted.

"It's almost like he's trying to get me to remember something... Something about wanting what's rightfully his back, but it doesn't make any sense..." He trailed off.

"... How can this not be my body?" He said more to himself than anything else.

"Not... Your... Body...?" Ichigo questioned meekly with wide eyes.

_'Sounds very familiar, doesn't it 'Ichigo'...'_ Said the one voice he didn't need to hear right then, the voice within had said his name in a rather slow and mocking way.

In response to hearing the voice Ichigo couldn't help but raise a hand to his face as he began to mentally pushed back his inner hollow. "Go away..." He muttered lowly.

_'Hahaha well this is interesting...' _That almost smokey sounding voice echoed in the back of the blonde's mind, but he paid no heed to it and instead narrowed his eyes down in the other teen.

"... You ok?" He questioned, finding all of this very strange but a possibility that could help him figure things out.

At first the orange haired teen didn't respond, then after a moment he lowered his hand and took a deep breath. "Yeah..." He replied in a tired tone.

"… Maybe we should both get some sleep, I don't think talking about what's causing us to lose sleep will help us gain any." Axel spoke up with a sigh before laying back down again.

"Yeah... You're right." Ichigo said in agreement as he settled back down. "Night..."

Two to three hours later the Substitute Shinigami snapped awake once again but this time it was due to his combat badge alerting him to a hollow. Ichigo grabbed his badge from off his desk and place it to his chest applying a bit of spiritual energy. In an instant his spirit form was pushed out of his body. The orange haired teen then opened his window and stepped onto the windowsill. He paused for just a brief moment to glance over at the form of the other teen in the dark before heading off into the night to track down the hollow.

At the sound of the badge going off, the blonde was pulled out of his half slumber he had fallen into and he jerked awake. He sat up just in time to see Ichigo, wearing black robes, jump out the window but when he looked back down at Ichigo's bed; the orange head was fast asleep. He narrowed his eyes and blinked a few times before scrambling out of bed and looking out the window to see Ichigo disappear out of sight. His eye went wide with confusion and he rubbed at them for a moment before glancing back over at the bed.

"What... The hell..." He questioned, turning away from the window and back at the seemingly sleeping teen.

_'... Is this... Another hallucination...?'_ He couldn't help but question, rubbing at his face.

"Ichigo?" He questioned, walking over to the orange haired teen and shaking him.

"Hey! Wake up!" He called out, beginning to lose his cool from what he just saw.

"I said wake up!" He nearly shouted, raising a foot and kicking the orange haired teen out of bed but he simply flopped to the floor like a rag doll.

An ever so slight yelp sound was heard from the closet, accompanied by the slight sound of movement.

Axel tensed at the sound, automatically turning around and in the direction of the sound, eyes searching the darkness for whatever it was.

"Who's there?" He called out, poised and ready for whatever it was, his mind running a mile a minute, trying to figure all of this out. Unfortunately nothing but silence met the blonde's ears.

Axel slowly walked toward the other side of the room while pulling out the dagger he had slipped into his pocket and keeping his eyes peeled.

"I know you're in there." He spoke up.

"I don't know who the hell you are or why you're following me, but if you don't step out of the closet slowly, you'll be in too many pieces to do so" He said in a dangerously low voice, hoping to scare whoever it was.

_'This could be it, this could be my chance to figure out who is trying to kill me...'_

* * *

And that's it for this chapter. We're currently looking for a beta reader if anyone is interested. Anyway! Please let us know what you guys think! Until next time! R&R please!


	2. House of Crazy

Killer Instincts

Chapter 2: House of Crazy

Disclaimer: We don't own Bleach, or claim to own the plot/characters. The original plot and characters however belong to us. Axel belongs to MaskedxMayhem (co writer).

* * *

_'This could be it, this could be my chance to figure out who was trying to kill me.__.__.'_

Another small noise was heard from the closet that sounded close to a whimper. The blonde growled under his breath, becoming frustrated and very on edge.

"I said get the hell out here!" He hissed, sliding the closet door open, dagger poised and ready to strike but he faltered when he saw nothing. He took a step closer to get a better look and ended up kicking something. He paused for a moment, taking one last look just to be sure before kneeling down to inspect what it was that he had kicked.

"The... Stuffed toy?" He questioned upon closer inspection, picking the toy up by the leg. He took a moment to turn the toy this way and that, looking for anything suspicious. His eyes narrowed down when an idea came to him.

_'__…__ It could be some sort of trap.__.__.'_ He thought, turning the stuffed toy around again.

_'Could be something hidden inside__.__'_ He thought, looking for any stitching or sign of tearing, before finding none and deciding it would be best to check just in case. So, the blonde made a move to tear open the stuffed toy, dagger just barely touching the surface. Only he happened to be holding the stuffed toy upside down and planned to slice it clean open, one end to the other.

"NO DON'T!" A voice cried out suddenly and to the teen's surprise it was coming from the stuffed animal.

"Please, don't cut me open! I didn't do anything wrong!" It pleaded as it waved its arms and free leg, but not too much as to be cut open by the dagger.

In surprise the blonde had dropped the stuffed toy, his eyes going slightly wide. "Did you just... Did you just... Talk?"

Before he hit the ground Kon flipped over and landed on his feet. Then without hesitation he quickly ran between the teen's legs, across the room and dove under the bed.

"What the hell..." Axel cursed under his breath.

"This is either one really fucked up dream or I am seriously losing my mind..."

"Ju... Just put... Put the dagger way... Please?" Came the meek voice of the strange stuffed animal from under the bed.

"Bu-but you're a..." The blonde trailed off.

"How are you talking? Is this some kind of stupid trick?!" He questioned in confusion, not moving to pocket the dagger.

"Just please put the dagger away! It's sharp... And pointy... And I don't want that thing pointed at my crotch again!" The stuffed toys said in a pleading tone.

Axel frowned at the answer, still not very convinced but he pocketed the dagger anyway, seeing no real threat in a stuffed toy, even if it was talking.

"Just... How the hell are you talking?!"

Upon hearing the sound of the dagger being sheathed the strange stuffed lion poked his head out from under the bed. Upon seeing the absence of said dagger, he pulled himself out from under the furniture and stood to face the teen. Although, he was ready to dive back under at a moments notice, not that the bed provided much protection anyway.

"Because I'm a Mod Soul." He said as if that explained everything.

"... A what?" The blonde questioned in return.

"Is that a name for whatever kind of toy you are or whatever drug that crazy doctor gave me?" He questioned, beginning to truly believe he was hallucinating.

"What? You're spending the night in Ichigo's room and you don't know about this kind of stuff?" The stuffed animal questioned in return as he tilted his head to the side.

"What kind of stuff, what the fuck are you talking about?!" Axel nearly shouted, taking a step back, his mind spinning.

"Well, considering you knocked Ichigo's body onto the floor it's safe to assume that you don't..." The odd stuff animal commented as he glanced to the orange haired teen's body. He then hopped up onto the bed and took a few steps toward the center of it with his arms crossed.

"Where to begin..." He hit one plush paw on top of the other. "I know!" He abruptly turned to face the teen.

"It's like this..." But the talking stuffed lion got no further than that when he was abruptly stepped on by someone wearing white socks and brown sandals.

Ichigo had returned at just that moment and upon feeling something odd under his foot he glanced down. His usual scowl spread across his face as he reached down and picked up the stuffed animal by the back of his neck.

"Kon... Why aren't you in the closet?" He questioned the Mod Soul, who simply chuckled nervously in response.

Axel cleared his throat to get the orange haired teen's attention when it seemed like he was being ignored.

"Have a nice walk?" He questioned sarcastically, crossing his arms over his chest.

"Just what the hell is going on? And how aren't you fucking dead?! You jumped out a damn window!" He sputtered in frustration.

"Not to mention there's two of you! And a fucking talking stuffed animal! What the hell did you drug me with?!"

Upon hearing the other teen's voice Ichigo's head snapped in his direction. "Well... Umm... I... Err..." He faltered at first, unsure of what to say until a realization hit him.

"Wait a minute... You can see me?!" He questioned in slight disbelief as he stared at Axel dumbly.

"I'm only blind in one eye dumbass." Came the snarky reply of the blonde.

"'Course I can see you! Why the hell wouldn't I?!" He spat out, taking a few steps back.

"And how the hell are you in two places at once?!" He questioned, still trying to make sense of all of this. He moved to say something else but then he grew quiet. He shook his head and chuckled humorlessly under his breath.

"You know what? No." He decided, taking a few steps back and running a hand through his hair.

"You're just another fucking hallucination." He said almost hysterically.

"So... I'm gonna…" He turned around. "Go back to sleep... And when I wake... None of this will have ever happened..."

The orange haired teen couldn't help but frown deeply at the other's reaction. "It's not gonna go away that easy." He informed Axel as he stepped down off of the bed and onto the floor. Ichigo then spotted his body lying in a different place then where he left it.

"Why's my body on the floor?" He questioned, although it wasn't directed at anyone in particular.

"Don't look at me!" Kon was quick to say when the Substitute Shinigami slightly glanced to him.

"You wouldn't wake up so I kicked you off the bed" The blonde replied simply, taking a seat on the guest bed and rubbing at his temples.

"So... Can I have an explanation?" He added in a tired and annoyed tone.

Ichigo let out a heavy sigh as he none too gently tossed Kon onto the desk. "Hey!" The stuffed lion snapped, although he was ignored by the orange haired teen.

After freeing his hands, the Substitute Shinigami crossed his arms over his chest. "First off, do you know what a Shinigami is?" He asked with a slight frown.

"Yes, I do." Axel replied in a low voice, eyeing the other a bit suspiciously.

"Really?" Ichigo couldn't help but question in slight surprise.

"Well that makes this a little easier then. To put it simply, I am a Substitute Shinigami."

"So... You're a Shinigami..." The blonde trailed off, but it was more of a statement then a question.

"More or less... Yes." Ichigo replied with a shrug.

"Oh." The blonde replied simply.

"... Wasn't expecting to run into one, at least not this soon anyway..." He trailed off under his breath.

"So... You... Slay hollows and stuff right?" He questioned.

"That's right. In fact that's actually why I left." The orange haired teen explained as he walked over to his body.

"Oh... Ok then." The blonde replied nonchalantly, laying back against the bed and placing his hands behind his head.

"That still doesn't explain why you have a talking stuffed animal." He spoke up after remaining quiet for a moment.

"And... Wait... Aren't you dead or something?" He questioned, still confused.

"Dead? No, I'm still alive. Still human, I just have Shinigami powers." Ichigo said in reply to Axel's question.

"As for Kon... That's a bit of a long story... But I'll try to shorten it. Basically, Kon is an artificial soul that was created by a Shinigami scientist some time ago. They referred to what he is as a Mod Soul. Apparently they made him and many more like him as a plan to fight against hollows. But they scrapped the plan and destroyed almost all of them, simply put Kon got lucky. I ended up finding the guy and he's been here ever since. He comes in handy from time to time when he's not being a pain that is." The orange haired Shinigami explained with a small shrug of the shoulders.

"Comes in handy?" The blonde questioned.

"What, does he keep your little sisters entertained or something? How is a pussy of a stuffed bear or whatever the fuck he is helpful to a Shinigami?"

"Hey! I can do all kinds of things, thank you very much! And I'm a lion!" Kon snapped in mild annoyance from where he stood upon Ichigo's desk.

The orange haired Shinigami was just about to enter his body when the other teen asked that question. "It's easier to show it, then explain." He replied with a slight smirk as he abruptly picked the stuffed toy up.

"Ichigo... You're not gonna do it the hard way are you?" The strange toy lion couldn't help but question with obvious concern.

"No reason to." The Substitute Shinigami said simply as he placed his combat badge to Kon's chest. He applied a slight bit of spiritual pressure which resulted in a strange green marble to fly out of the toy's mouth. With great reflexes, Ichigo caught it in midair as the stuffed toy went limp. He then held up the little marble so Axel could easily see it.

"This is all there is to Kon when he not placed within a body." He explained to the other teen as he tossed the lifeless toy onto the desk.

"... He's a marble?" The blonde questioned a bit incredulously.

"You can kinda think of this as a container for his soul." Ichigo said in way of explanation. "This can be placed in more than just the bodies of stuffed animals. Sometimes when needed, I place Kon in my body to take my place when I have to go away for an extended time. Mod Souls also have heightened abilities since they were originally designed for combat. Kon for example has heightened leg strength, which he can use to jump really high or to kick very hard."

"So he's like a stand in when you have to fight?" He questioned, seeing if he understood right.

"Right." Ichigo confirmed with a nod of his head.

"Hmmm." The blonde hummed under his breath but didn't say anything else as he tossed over onto his side, delving into his own thoughts.

The orange haired teen watched Axel for a moment before deciding that he had no more to ask. He placed Kon's pill form back into his stuffed lion body. The toy instantly snapped back to life and the Mod Soul immediately began to complain and whine to which Ichigo had one simple replied for.

"Shut up Kon." Then he proceeded to toss the stuffed animal back into the closet before reentering his body. He spent but a moment rubbing his shoulders before glancing over toward Axel.

"We should both probably try and get more sleep while we can."

The blonde scoffed slightly but only pulled his blankets over his shoulder in response.

_'Like that'll happen.__.__.'_ He thought a bit glumly.

"...Night Ichigo." He spoke up after a moment.

"Night Axel." The orange haired teen said in reply as he settled down into bed.

The next morning Ichigo woke to the familiar sound of his alarm clock going off. He pulled himself up and out of bed; he took a quick moment to stretch. Then came the oh so familiar sound of his usual morning routine.

"GOOD MORNING ICHIGOOOO!" His father came busting into the room at that exact moment with the intention of kicking his own son in the head. But the orange haired teen casually walked to the side and out of the way of the man's path. And unfortunately for Isshin, he was heading straight for the window which Ichigo never closed the night before. With quick reflexes Isshin grabbed the windowsill, effectively stopping his momentum. But now he had another problem, he was hanging out a window on a two-story house.

"Little help here..." He requested a bit sheepishly.

The Substitute Shinigami moved over to the window and glared down at the man. Ichigo then proceeded to slide the window shut, which forced Isshin to lose his grip and fall to the ground with a loud bang. Unfazed by the sound, the orange haired teen then proceed to get dressed for the day.

Axel nearly jumped out of bed, startled by the commotion. "What the hell is going on?!"

"Hmmm?" Ichigo hummed as he glanced over to the blonde, having almost forgotten the other was there.

"Oh, just the normal morning routine around here. Wake up, dodge the old man's 'surprise' attack, get dressed, have breakfast, then go to school." He replied with a nonchalant shrug.

"... He does this every morning?" The blonde questioned, raising an eyebrow in slight surprise and curiosity.

"Sadly, yes..." The orange haired teen replied with a heavy sigh. "Although it doesn't always end with him going out the window like that."

_'__…__ This is one fucked up family...' _Axel couldn't help but think, but only nodded in reply.

"Anyway, I need to get ready for school. I don't think your clothes are ready yet though..." Ichigo stated as he rubbed the back of his head sheepishly.

"On a different note, you might as well join us for breakfast. Knowing Yuzu, she already knows your here and is making more than enough food for everyone."

"Fine." The blonde agreed, standing up.

"Just give me a minute to get dressed then we'll head downstairs." The Substitute Shinigami requested before heading out of the room and to the bathroom with his school clothes. The thought of changing around the other teen made him embarrassed, although he wasn't quite sure why.

The blonde nodded in response and waited patiently for the other to return.

Not quite a few minutes later and Ichigo returned fully dressed in his school uniform and just in time too because at that moment Yuzu was calling them to come down to eat.

"Sounds like breakfast is ready. Come on let's go." He said as he motioned for Axel to follow.

The blonde nodded in reply and followed after the other.

Soon enough, the two teens were entering the area where they usually had breakfast. "Morning." Ichigo greeted as he took his usual seat and motioned for Axel sit next to him.

"Hey." Karin greeted in return in an almost bored manner. Axel silently and almost hesitantly took a seat next to Ichigo.

"Good morning Ichigo, and Ichigo's friend!" Yuzu said in a cheerful voice.

"Hope you like pancakes! I made plenty for everyone!" She smiled brightly.

"It's been a while since the last time you made pancakes." Ichigo commented, then spoke up again after a moment.

"By the way, this is Axel. Axel these are my sisters Yuzu and Karin." The orange haired teen gestured to each one as he introduced them to one another.

"Hey." Was the only real greeting that Karin gave in response, although it was accompanied by a slight wave of the hand. Axel only nodded in response.

"It's so nice to finally meet you! Dad told us about your injuries, it sounds like it must have really hurt! Are you feeling better?" Yuzu asked in much too bubbly of a voice, causing the blonde to cringe slightly.

"...Yeah, I'm feeling a lot better actually." Axel said with a forced smile.

"That's great!" She said cheerfully, her smile widening.

"So, since you're going to be staying with us for a while, why don't you tell us about yourself?" She questioned, then continued on without missing a beat.

"How long have you been in Karakura? Do you like it here? How'd you get shot?" She questioned in rapid fire with more to come.

Axel didn't reply to any of the questioned and only sat there staring at the young girl numbly.

"Yuzu, I highly doubt he wants you poking around in his personal life considering he just met you. Not to mention, it's also rude seeing as he's a guest here. And on top of that he's still recovering from a serious injury." Karin pointed out with a slightly annoyed tone before digging into her pancakes.

Axel glanced over at the other with a slightly surprised, yet thankful expression.

"... At least someone here is sane..." He commented under his breath, poking around at his food with his fork. Yuzu immediately shut up, instantly realizing her mistake.

"Sorry." She said sheepishly.

Ichigo couldn't help but shake his head with a slightly amused look. "Karin, can you pass the..."

He didn't get the opportunity to finish because at that exactly at that moment a door nearby abruptly swung open. Standing in the now open doorway was a slightly banged up looking Isshin. He immediately pointed a finger at the orange haired teen as he began to speak in a loud voice.

"How dare you shut the window on your father like that! Not to mention you also missed out on some prime bonding time!"

"And maybe you should start thinking about finding a more normal way to 'bond'!" Ichigo slightly snapped in return, obviously agitated.

"And is that really the way to start off the day when we have a guest in the house?! All your yelling and banging around woke Axel up!"

"There's nothing wrong with a morning greeting!" The older man responded with, as he crossed his arms over his chest.

"A morning greeting is one thing but it's something completely different to come running into my room yelling at the top of your lungs while simultaneously trying to attack me!" The Substitute Shinigami returned a much louder voice as he stood to face the man.

"He's got a point." Karin said abruptly as she continued to calmly munch on her pancakes.

"He probably thinks our family is full of nut cases. And to be honest dad you fit the bill perfectly."

Isshin couldn't help but dropped his head upon hearing that comment. "Wh... Why would you say that?!" He couldn't help but question in a slightly upset voice.

"Because it's completely true. You're weird, you're crazy, you're hyperactive and not in a good way, and you're perverted at times." With each comment that the dark haired tomboy made Isshin's head drop further and further.

Abruptly the man ran into the nearby room and stopped in front of a large portrait on the wall. "Masaki... Why is our daughter so mean to me..." He whined as if he was talking to the very person in the picture.

Ichigo couldn't help but sigh heavily in frustration at the scene as he scratched his head. Then he glanced back to Axel.

"Sorry you had to experience my crazy old man firsthand... Anyway... Do you wanna borrow some of my clothes for today? That way you don't have to stay in pajamas until yours are clean."

"It's fine." The blonde dismissed the other's apology, not really sure what to make of all of this. Somehow, however odd it was, he found it nice.

"Uh... Sure thanks." He replied, eyeing the other teen's father with a raised eyebrow.

"... Why is he talking to a picture?"

"Hmmm? Oh he does that from time to time." The other teen replied with a shake of his head.

"Are you done eating? Or do you want me to leave them out on your bed upstairs?"

The blonde glanced down at the plate he barely touched and over at Ichigo's which also had barely been touched.

"Ahh... I'm not really hungry anyway..." He said in a low voice, not really having an appetite. Actually, the thought of food made his stomach churn for some reason, and an almost guilty feeling washed over him. It's been like that since he's woken up. It wasn't that he felt bad about having someone else cook for him and him not doing anything in return but it felt almost as if he didn't deserve it or that it wasn't his right.

"Come on and I'll get you some clothes." Ichigo stated as he motioned for the other to follow him back upstairs. The blonde followed the other silently and chose to remain silent until a thought came to him.

"So, I've met your dad and sisters but... What about your mother?" He couldn't help but ask a bit curiously.

The orange haired teen stayed quiet for but a moment before answering in a roundabout way.

"That was her picture hanging in the living room." He said in a slightly depressed tone as he walked into his room.

The blonde's eyebrows furrowed momentarily, not seeming to understand at first. "The one your dad was talking to?"

"That's right." Ichigo simply stated as he began dig through one of his dresser drawers.

"… So where is she? Away on a trip or something?" Axel couldn't help but question, picking up on the tone in the other's voice.

The Substitute Shinigami stopped all movement and stood there silently for a long moment. "She died... A long time ago..."

The blonde fell silent at those words, immediately feeling a bit guilty. "... Oh..." He said, then added in a 'sorry' in a low voice.

The orange haired teen let out a humorless chuckle. "Who am I kidding... She didn't die... She was killed." He said in a low angry voice more to himself then anything but Axel still heard his words.

The blonde grew still and almost seemed to flinch at those words. He wasn't sure why but for some reason he couldn't explain, but he felt almost guilty about it.

"... What happened?" He questioned in a low voice, without really realizing what he was saying.

"You don't have to say if you don't want..." He added in quickly.

"It was a hollow attack." Ichigo replied without hesitation as he finally glanced over his shoulder to look at the other teen.

"... I'm sorry." Axel replied, looking down at his feet though he wasn't really sure why.

The orange haired teen shook his head as he spoke. "There's no reason for you to apologize. I mean it's not like you had anything to do with it..." He said with a slightly dark and almost guilty tone.

"Ichigo! You'll be late for school if you don't hurry up!" Yuzu called from downstairs, cutting off whatever the blonde was going to say next.

The Substitute Shinigami's head snapped around to look at the clock on his desk. "Shit!" He stated before quickly digging through his dresser drawer and pulled out a shirt and a pair of pants.

"Here you go." He quickly stated as he tossed the clothes to the blonde.

"Sorry but I gotta run!" And with that said, he quickly bolted out of the room. Soon after that Axel could clearly hear the sound of the front door opening and closing.

"Uh... Ok then…" Axel muttered under his breath before shutting the door to Ichigo's room and dressing. Once he was dressed he took a seat on the guest bed and ran a hand through his hair.

_'... I wonder how long he wants me to stay here. Not that this family is really all that bad, crazy yes but... Nice in an odd way... I just...' _His thoughts trailed off and he leaned back against the bed.

At that moment there was a knock on the door. "You all dressed in there?" The voice belonged to that of Ichigo's father. The blonde glanced over at the door.

"Yeah." He called out simply. Isshin walked into the room once Axel had confirmed that he was decent.

"So how are you feeling? Any pain?" He asked a much more professional, although still friendly, way. If the blonde hadn't seen the man's crazy side before he would have probably thought that the doctor was quite normal. Axel merely stared at the other for a moment before sitting up.

_'I just can't figure this guy out, one minute he's trying to attack his family and the next...'_ He couldn't help but think in confusion but on the outside he wore a false half smile.

"No, I'm feeling a lot better actually." He replied, repeating the answer he had given Ichigo's sister just little while ago.

The man nodded his head slightly with a friendly smile. "That's good to hear!" He walked over to the teen and that's when Axel realized he was holding a glass of water and a bottle of pills.

"Here," He started off with as he held them out to the teen.

"I want you to take two pills every four hours; these will help with the infection." Isshin instructed the teen. The blonde almost reluctantly took the medication after eyeing it for a moment.

"Alright fine." He agreed nonchalantly.

"So... How long do I have to stay here?" He questioned.

"Just a couple of days. But I would like to look over some of your other injuries that I saw, if you'll let me that is." The man requested.

"Uhh... Sure." Axel nodded, placing the now empty glass and bottle of medication on a nearby counter.

Isshin nodded his head slightly. "Would you rather do it in here? Or would you rather be down stairs in the clinic?"

"Doesn't really matter to me." The blonde shrugged.

"Whatever works best for you I guess, I mean you are the doctor." He added in a matter of fact voice.

"That is true." The elder man said in reply with a slight chuckle.

"Now I know you just put it on... But can you take off your shirt for me?"

"Want me to drop my pants and bend over as well?" He shot back in an immediate response. His eyes widened slightly when he realized what he just said.

"I uhh... I mean yeah sure it's fine." He said quickly, trying to cover up his other statement.

_'Damn__.__'_ He thought, pulling off his shirt.

_'...I have no idea why I said that. He's just trying to help and all I can do is be a complete jack ass...'_

But all Isshin did in response to Axel's first comment was laugh. "Nice comeback! And such a quick reaction time!" The man stated with amusement in his voice.

"Now then..." He then got to work and began to unravel the bandages to get a better overall view of the teen's injuries. The blonde only stared at the other, mouth gaping open in slight surprise.

_'He... Took it as a joke?'_ He couldn't help but think, watching the man closely.

Isshin gave no indication that he noticed the blonde's surprise and continued his work in silence. After a few minutes the man began to rewrap the wounds. "I have to say whoever patched you up did a decent job. Your other bullet wounds are healing nicely, and those bruises will be gone in no time." The elder man gave no outward reaction to the unbelievable amount of old scars that covered the teen's chest and the majority of his back. Isshin remained silent for a moment before finally speaking again.

"Are you sure you don't want to contact someone? Family? Friends? Anyone?"

"I don't exactly have any way to contact anyone if I wanted to." The blonde replied after falling silent for a moment.

A slightly confused expression crossed the man's face. "What about the cell phone I found in your pants pocket?"

An equally confused look crossed the blonde's face but he covered it just as quickly.

_'... Damn bastard probably slipped the phone into my pocket when I wasn't looking__.__..'_ He couldn't help but think with a bit of scorn.

"Ah... Right... I must have… Forgot about that..." He said with a false sheepish smile.

Isshin chose that moment to pull out the phone he had mentioned not even a minute ago. "Then it's a good thing I found it before your pants got put in the washing machine." He stated with a bright smile.

"... Right..." Axel said in a low voice.

"… Then I guess I better let them know what's going on." He said a bit reluctantly, making it seem as if he did have a home to go back to.

"Here you are!" The older man said with a friendly smile as he held the phone out to the blonde. If he noticed the teen's hesitation he showed no signs.

"… Thanks..." The blonde said in a low voice, hesitating for a long moment before actually dialing the number.

"Hey." He replied to the voice on the other end of the phone.

"Yeah, yeah I'm fine." He said in a slightly aggravated voice. He let out a frustrated sight and ran a hand through his hair.

"Would you just shut up for a minute and let me talk!" He growled, and the rest of the conversation that could be heard from the blonde's side mostly consisted of frustrated shouting and accusations.

Isshin couldn't help but frown at what he heard. And as the shouting increased, so too did his anger. Until finally, he snatched the phone from Axel's grip and moved it to his ear.

"I don't know what kind of parent you think you are and I don't give a damn! No parent should yell at their child while their trying to heal from a grave injury! And if I find out you're the one responsible for all the scars on his body, I swear I'll find you and I'll kick your ass!" He snapped at whoever was on the other end.

Axel's mouth fell open at the other man's reply and he moved to speak; to tell him that it's not what he thought but he found he was at a loss for words and only sat there dumbly.

"Wha..." The man abruptly stopped talking as he listened to the voice on the other end. Then a surprised expression crossed his face and for a moment he seemed at a loss for words.

"You?!" He paused again as he listened then Isshin slightly glanced over at the blonde haired teen.

Axel's eyebrows furrowed for a moment.

_'... Does he know him or something?'_ He couldn't help but think as he listened to the conversation.

Isshin turned away once again putting his full focus back on the conversation. "I had no idea he was one of yours... Hmm? Oh, one of his wounds reopened while at school yesterday and Ichigo brought him here." There was another pause.

"Yeah... They met... But from my understanding it wasn't the best first impression..." He nodded his head even though the one on the phone couldn't see it.

"Yeah... Yeah... His injury is fine and I was able to remove the bullet fragment. That's right. But I did uncover one complication... He has an infection but thankfully we caught it early enough for it not to be life-threatening. But I do want to keep him here for another day or so to monitor it. After that he's free to go, although he will still need to keep taking medicine for the next week to make sure the infection does go away." He explained to the one on the phone.

"... One of... Yours?" The blonde questioned more to himself then anything.

"What the hell does that mean? Do you guys know each other or something?" He spoke up louder than before in an attempt to grab the other's attention.

"Hmm?" Isshin looked back over to Axel.

"Oh yeah! We go way back!" He said in response to the teen's second question, before turning his focus back to the phone call.

"I'll make sure to take good care of Axel while he's here. So don't worry about a thing! I'm gonna hand the phone back off to him now." The man then handed the phone back to the blonde.

"Here you are!" He said with a friendly smile.

"Yeah." Axel said as he was handed the phone and he continued to talk to the other on the phone before hanging up shortly.

xXxXx

Soon enough the school day was done and Ichigo had just arrived home. He walked in silently without a word, looking as if he was in a daze, and in this household that isn't the smartest move.

"WELCOME HOME ICHIGOOO!" The sound of the orange haired teen colliding with the wall sounded through the house as Isshin's attack hit home. The man stood there dumbly for a moment staring at the teen and was quickly scolded by his daughters.

But the Substitute Shinigami paid this no mind as he quietly picked himself up and walked up the stairs. "I'll be in my room..." He said numbly as he departed.

Soon enough Ichigo was walking into his room and was instantly greeted by Kon's voice.

"Ichigo! There's something wrong with this guy! He doesn't think chicks are hot at all!" The little plushy lion wailed from where he stood upon the guest bed. But the orange haired teen acted as if he never heard and simply walk over to his bed and flop down.

"Uh oh..." Kon muttered lowly at the sight.

"Ichigo's in one of his moods again..."

"What does it matter if I don't think girls are 'hot'." The blonde said in a defensive tone, shooting a glare at the stuffed toy.

"You ok?" He questioned the orange haired teen, his actions not going unnoticed.

"Of course it matters! Here I am showing you half naked chicks out of a magazine I'm technically not supposed to have and you don't even have one reaction!" The stuffed animal cried out as he flailed his arms. Then from out of nowhere a pillow came flying across the room and hit Kon dead on, knocking him into the nearby wall where he then fell to the floor.

"And what kind of reaction am I supposed to have?" Axel questioned in reply, glancing from Ichigo to where the Kon had fallen.

"I don't get what you're going on about, their only women." He said crossing his arms over his chest, still not quite understanding what the big deal was.

"Nice shot by the way." He commented under his breath, glancing back over to Ichigo.

"Only women? Only women?!" Kon snapped in response as he pulled himself back up onto the bed. "How can you not have a reaction to a pair of nice big boobs... Nicely curved hips..." He started drooling at the thought before shaking his head to clear his thoughts. He then moved up close to Axel and whispered lowly.

"By the way... There's no talking to Ichigo when he gets like this... It's like talking to a brick wall." He informed the blonde with a serious tone. In reaction to the closeness of the stuffed toy, the blonde punched him square in the face.

"Why are you making such a big deal about this?!" He nearly shouted in annoyance.

"I don't see what there is to have a 'reaction' about! There's nothing attractive about huge boobs or 'nice hips'!" He blurted, becoming increasingly frustrated with the plush lion. Kon was knocked back due to Axel's punch and he bounced back quickly although he couldn't help but take a moment to stare at the teen.

"Are you gay?" He questioned just loud enough for the blonde to hear as he tilted his head to the side.

"What?" Axel asked, a little taken aback by the question.

"Are you gay?" The plush lion questioned again. "Although I guess I understand if you're a closet gay."

Axel only sat there and stared at the other dumbly for a moment.

"A what?" He asked, not seeming to understand what the other was asking.

"Don't you know what it means to be gay?" The strange toy continued to question in a low voice.

"... No…" The blonde replied, eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

"And why are you acting like this is a secret?" He questioned, crossing his arms over his chest.

"Well, when it comes to this sort of stuff people are usually rather secretive." Kon said in reply with a tilt of his head. "And gay is what they call people who are attracted to the same gender."

"... Oh..." Was all the blonde said in response, though he was musing over the idea.

_'__…__ I don't think I've thought of ANYONE as 'hot' or been attracted to anyone, at least as far as I can tell, people are just people, nothing more to it…. I can't be… Gay__…__ Can I?' _He thought to himself, trying to remember anything about this, but coming up with nothing, so he shook it off.

"Hey..." Kon whispered as he poked Axel in the side.

"Do you find Ichigo attractive?" He questioned in that same low voice.

Axel's eyes widened slightly at the question and he couldn't help but glance over at the orange headed teen for a moment.

"I..." He faltered, for some reason the question made his stomach do a flip.

'… _I don't think he's 'hot' and I don't think I'm attracted to him…. Then again those feeling are foreign to me and there is something about this guy… I don't know what it is, but I don't think he's attractive… Do I?__' _He couldn't help but think but shook his head and turned back toward the plush lion.

"...No."

"Right..." Was all the odd stuffed toy said in response with a slight tone of doubt.

Meanwhile during all this Ichigo had remained deadly silent. Although he seemed quiet on the outside within his mind was a maelstrom of thoughts, concerns and doubts. And let's not forget the ever present voice of 'him'. The orange haired teen's hollow had plagued him all day which resulted in the downcast mood he was in now. He was so lost within his own world that he never even really even registered that Kon and Axel were talking, let alone talking about him. Axel shook his head at Kon, tired of the stuffed toy questioning him.

"Just drop it already ok?" He said, glancing over to the orange haired teen again.

"Ichigo?" He questioned, wondering if maybe the other had fallen asleep or something.

"Fine..." Kon replied with a slight sigh, then he too glanced over to the depressed teen.

"I told you... There's no talking to him when he's like this." He said with a shake of his head.

"What do you mean 'like this'?" The blonde questioned, glancing between the stuffed lion to the orange haired teen.

The plush toy crossed his arms over his chest as he spoke. "Due to his unique situation, Ichigo has some very interesting personal problems. Some days are fine and some days are a lot worse than others. And sometimes it's so bad that he gets like this..." Kon turned his gaze to the orange haired teen before looking back to Axel.

"When he gets like this he really doesn't respond to anyone or anything."

"What do you mean by 'unique situation'?" The blonde questioned in reply.

Kon couldn't help but frown deeply as he turned his back to Axel. "I really shouldn't say... It's not exactly my place..."

"...I see." Axel replied in a low voice, glancing back at the orange haired teen momentarily.

"It's really depressing to be around Ichigo when he's like this... Hey! Why don't you try talking to him? You know... Cheer him up or something!" The plush lion suggested as he turned back to the blonde haired teen.

"And how do you suppose I do that?" The blonde questioned with a raised eyebrow, unsure of what to do.

"I don't know... Try something... Anything!" Kon stated in a not so helpful way.

The blonde only crossed his arms in response and his eyes narrowed down on the other.

"Why don't you?" He said.

"After all, that's what stuffed animals are for aren't they? To comfort sniveling brats." He said, grabbing the plushy by the head.

"So go on..." He chucked Kon at Ichigo. "Do your thing plushy boy"

"OI!" Kon cried out as he was tossed across the room. Whether or not intentional, the plush lion ended up hitting Ichigo in the head and true to Kon's words the Substitute Shinigami didn't even react. Kon was quick to pick himself up and shake a fist in Axel's direction.

"What's the big idea throwing me like that?!" He snapped at the teen.

The blonde simply shrugged in response and lay back against the guest bed while pulling out a cigarette from his pocket.

_'...Probably not good for the infection but truth be told, I couldn't care less__.__'_ He thought absentmindedly, lighting the cigarette.

Kon huffed at Axel's response, then set his gaze on the orange haired teen beside him.

"Hey there Ichigo... Ah... Nice weather we're having..." No reaction.

"Umm... How was school?" No reaction.

"See any hot chicks recently?" No reaction.

"Rukia! Have you talked to Rukia lately?" Absolutely no response.

"Rukia?" The blonde questioned with a slightly raised eyebrow, taking a long drag.

"Is that his girlfriend or something?"

"HA! Hardly! Rukia is too good for him!" Kon stated as he placed his paws on his hips.

The Substitute Shinigami chose that moment to react. He grabbed Kon by the head and threw him across the room into a wall while saying "Shut up Kon..."

Kon was quick to jump back up onto his feet.

"Hey! Why does everyone keep throwing me around today?!" He snapped in mild annoyance. Then the plush toy sighed heavily as he crossed his arms over his chest.

"You know... If it's really getting that bad, then maybe you should go get help." He said in a more serious tone as he tilted his head to the side slightly.

"Like those weird mask guys, they helped you last time maybe they can..."

"They're gone." Ichigo stated, completely cutting off what the stuffed animal was trying to say.

"Gone? What do you mean they're gone?" Kon questioned in slight surprise.

"They left." The orange haired teen stated with little to none emotion.

"They left? Where did they go?!" The stuffed animal questioned in annoyance.

"How the hell should I know?! It's not like they told me anything!" Ichigo snapped back in agitation as he finally picked himself up into a sitting position to glare down at the plush.

"Masked... guys?" The blonde questioned but it was more to himself then anything.

The orange haired teen continued on as if he hadn't heard Axel. "Besides I don't need their help. I dealt with 'him' once before and I can do it again."

Kon stared at him for long moment before speaking again. "You tried going to the mask guys, didn't you? That's how you know they left."

Ichigo fell silent for a moment. "I don't need them..." He said instead of answering the question.

"Need who?" The blonde questioned with a raised eyebrow.

"And who's this 'he' you keep mentioning."

The orange haired teen finally remembered that Axel was there as his head snapped in the other teen's direction. "I... He...Well..." He sputtered for a moment, unsure of what to say. Finally Ichigo let out a heavy sigh as he realized he would have to explain at least a little bit more.

"You remember those nightmares I mentioned last night?"

"Yeah." Axel replied simply.

"Well... They're kinda... Based off something I have to deal with pretty much every day..." The Substitute Shinigami explained as he lowered his gaze to the floor.

"Oh." Was all the blonde said in reply, shrugging his shoulders and taking another drag of his cigarette.

Ichigo couldn't help but raise an eyebrow at the other teen's reaction. "You're not gonna question what I mean?"

"Do I need to?" The blonde said in reply.

"I'm not really all that interested in your personal business to be honest." He shrugged.

"I mean sure what you were talking about earlier was kind of interesting because I could relate to it in a way but I've come to realize that your situation most likely has nothing to do with mine, and with that realization, I've lost interest." He said in an almost roundabout way.

"So... In other words, I don't care anymore." He said nonchalantly.

The orange haired teen raised both eyebrows in surprise to Axel's answer. "Oh..." He exchanged quick glance with Kon, who simply shrugged, before looking back to the other teen.

"Ok then..." He remained silent for a moment as he ran the blonde's words through his head again.

"Do you... Wanna... Talk about it?" He asked a bit hesitantly, then quickly raised his hands in front of him.

"You don't have to tell me anything you don't wanna though." He was quick to add in at the end.

Axel eyed the two for a moment before turning away.

_'Even thinking about... About anything that has to do with my situation pisses me off__.__'_ He thought, gaze shifting toward the ground.

_'I can't stand the fact that I can't remember ANYTHING__.__'_ He thought angrily, beginning to shake.

_'What am I even doing here?' _He shook his head, eyes roaming over the room for a moment.

_'... Putting people in danger... Someone's out there and they want me dead and I have a strong feeling they'd go through anything or anyone to make sure I'm dead... Even a family like this one__.__..'_ He couldn't help but think, crushing the still lite cigarette in his hands; any sign of pain was nonexistent.

"No." He finally replied in a low monotone, gaze still fixed on the ground.

Axel suddenly felt a hand on his shoulder and when he looked he found that Ichigo was now standing next to his bed.

"If you ever wanna talk about it... Talk about anything, I'll always be willing to listen." He informed the blonde with a reassuring tone.

"Don't touch me." The blonde growled in a dangerously low voice, grabbing the wrist of the hand on his shoulder.

"I don't want your fucking help!" He snapped, eyes still lowered to the ground.

"This is something I have to deal with on my own." He said in a low monotone, standing up slowly, cold two toned eyes shifting up toward the other.

"So don't bother." He spat out, shoving the other away, wavering slightly in his unstable state of mind.

"Ah... Hey!" The orange haired teen snapped slightly in surprise as he stumbled a few steps away.

"There's no reason to get mad! I was just offering to listen if you wanted to talk! It's not like I'm trying to force you to do anything!" Ichigo couldn't help but say in a slightly agitated tone.

"Well I don't want to talk." Axel growled in response.

"And I'm tired of all of this sympathetic bullshit!" He snapped.

"'I just want to help', 'I was just offering'." He said in a mocking voice.

"It's all a bunch of meaningless bullshit!" He paused for a moment, eyes wandering over the room in almost a psychotic or crazed manner.

"Human beings aren't selfless." A small smirk snaked across his face.

"It's in our nature to use abuse and ultimately kill each other." He said in an almost robotic manner before chuckling under his breath and turning toward the door.

"You have no idea who I am." He said in a low voice.

"And you shouldn't trust a stranger, let alone try to help him."

"Axel... What... the hell is wrong with you? Why the hell are you talking like that? And what's wrong with wanting to help others?" The Substitute Shinigami couldn't help the questions that flowed one after another.

"Either you're incredibly naïve or unbelievably stupid." The blonde scoffed.

"The world is full of bad people and horrible things; you don't simply go around wanting to help everyone, especially those you don't know." He said in a low voice, not fully aware of what he was saying.

"... And something tells me you've invited one of those bad people into your very home."

"I'm not naïve or stupid!" The orange haired teen couldn't help but snap in slight anger.

"I know there are bad people out there... In fact I've fought against some of them before... And I know that I can't help everyone, but I'll still gonna try to help as many as I can! Because that's who I am! So if you're trying to scare me off by saying you're a bad person or something, then save your breath! Because I don't believe a bad person would try to warn me like that." Ichigo stated as he crossed his arms over his chest, his all-too-familiar scowl upon his face.

Axel stayed silent after that, not even making a move to turn around or to reply. The only thing he did next was growl under his breath and forcefully swing the door open so it hit the wall with a bang, then he left the room.

"Where the hell do you think you're going Axel?!" Ichigo called after the other teen as he followed along shortly after.

"You still need time to recover!"

"I've recovered enough." The blonde said through gritted teeth, continuing to head down the stairs.

"Like hell you have!" He snapped at Axel as he made a grab for the other teen to prevent him from leaving. Reacting on pure instinct, the blonde turned and slammed the other into the wall. His eyes roamed over the other for a moment before narrowing down on the others.

"I am NOT your responsibility." He growled.

"So stop acting like it's your fucking job to make sure I'm safe. You've already saved my life... Isn't that satisfaction enough?!" He shoved away from Ichigo and continued down the hallway, not fully understand why the other was so persistent in making sure he was safe, but becoming increasingly annoyed by it.

The orange haired teen took a moment to shake his head before pushing off the wall and following after the blonde.

"In a way it IS my job to make sure you're healthy enough to leave. My family does own a clinic." Ichigo was also becoming increasingly agitated at his fellow classmate but he wasn't about to give up, he was too stubborn.

"Is that so huh?" The blonde turned for a moment once he made it to the last step, sneering at the other.

"Well then you should know Dr. Fruit Basket, that you can't legally keep a patient for over 48 hours without a court order... And I'd say my time is just about up." He smirked, holding out his hands while backing away.

"So..." He drug out, tilting his head slightly.

"Unless you can show me the papers." He turned back around.

"I'm getting the fuck out of here and there isn't a damn thing you can do about it." He said in an almost cocky manner, swinging the door open, not bothering to shut it before storming out.

Twitching greatly, the Substitute Shinigami stormed over to the doorway, but stopped a few steps outside the house.

"You wanna be that way? Fine! See if I care!" He called out angrily after the blonde.

Axel only made it to the end of the sidewalk just outside Ichigo's house when suddenly a hand was placed on his shoulder.

The blonde tensed at the sudden pressure on his shoulder and immediately reacted by spinning around, fist first. He was surprised however when he expected his fist to make contact with whomever was touching him, but instead had been caught by the very person. Upon realizing who this person was, his eyes went slightly wide.

* * *

And that's it for this chapter. Still looking for a beta reader if anyone is interested. Until next time! R&R please!


	3. Fragments of the Past

Killer Instincts

Chapter 3: Fragments of the Past

Disclaimer: We don't own Bleach, or claim to own the plot/characters. The original plot and characters however belong to us. Axel belongs to MaskedxMayhem (co writer).

* * *

The blonde tensed at the sudden pressure on his shoulder and immediately reacted by spinning around, fist first. He was surprised however when he expected his fist to make contact with whomever was touching him, had been caught by the very person. Upon realizing who this person was, his eyes went slightly wide.

Standing there with his big friendly smile wearing his usual strange green outfit was none other than Kisuke Urahara.

"Why, hello there!"

"Wha... What the hell are you doing?!" The blonde blurted out, pulling away from the man.

"Fuckin' let go me you bastard!"

"Now! Now! Don't be like that! After all I went through the trouble of bringing you some of your clothes!" The shopkeeper stated in his usual manner, his grin not leaving his face.

"Not to mention I also brought you some more cigarettes because I figured you'd either be low or out by now."

"Kisuke?! Wha..." Ichigo shook his head slightly. "You know Axel?"

The man glanced to him slightly. "Hmm? Oh, why yes! He's been staying at my shop for about a week now."

The blonde only stared at the other for a moment. "... Oh... Well I wasn't exactly planning on staying here much longer." He said, scratching at the back of his head a bit sheepishly.

The shopkeeper eyed him for a moment before pulling out a very familiar white fan and moving it before his face.

"Here at the Kurosaki Clinic? Or here in Karakura town?" He asked the teen in an almost knowing way.

"Ah..." Axel faltered, then he sighed and ran a hand through his hair.

"To be honest I was going to leave town." He paused for a moment.

"... The only reason why I went to the school like you suggested was to rule out any possibilities for finding answers here... To look for clues." He said as a way of explaining.

"I wasn't planning on going back to the shop. You... Gave me a second chance and I appreciate everything you've done for me but there are questions I need answers for and I need to find them on my own."

"I thought you might say that." The man stated as he snapped his fan shut.

"Have you thought of the possibility that you're looking for the answers in the wrong places?"

Ichigo remained silent as the two talked back and forth. He was unsure if he should say anything, but he also didn't know if he was supposed to leave. Then again they were outside his house, on his sidewalk. He was also very curious to learn more about his new mysterious classmate.

"The wrong places?" Axel questioned in return.

"And where the hell am I supposed to look?! You have no idea how frustrating this is!" He shouted.

"I may not know but I understand." He let out an ever so slight knowing chuckle. "In a way, your situation is like Ichigo's."

Upon hearing those words, the orange haired teen couldn't help but listen more intently to what the shopkeeper was saying.

"Telling me that isn't going to make getting answers any easier and it certainly isn't going to get me to stay." Axel crossed his arms over his chest, still convinced that it was is in his best interest to go look for answers instead of sitting on his hands and hoping they'd come to him.

"No, I suppose not." Kisuke said in agreement. "But I do have something at the shop that I was waiting to show you when you had recovered a bit more."

Axel's eyebrows rose at those words and an almost curious expression crossed his face.

"... What is it?" He questioned.

A mischievous smile crossed the shopkeeper's face. "That, I'm afraid, will have to wait until Dr. Kurosaki gives you a clean bill of health!" He then picked up the bag that had been sitting at his feet and shoved it into the blonde hands. "So you might as well get comfortable!"

Axel's eyes went slightly wide for a moment as he grabbed the bag, before they fell into slits and glared at the man.

"What... The hell" He twitched in annoyance.

"That isn't fair old man!" He shouted. "What the hell are you hiding from me?!"

"I'm not hiding anything." He stated in an innocent sort of way.

"As I said I was waiting to show you when you had recovered enough." The man once again repeated what he had said earlier, then a more serious expression crossed his face.

"Besides, wouldn't it be best to wait until all your wounds have healed before you potentially get into trouble? I mean, look what happened after getting into a little brawl at school. How well do you think you'd do if you end up having to fight for your life in your current condition?" Kisuke point out bluntly but he did make a good point.

"... Having... To fight... For my life?" Axel repeated under his breath.

"Are you saying whatever you have to show me is... Life threatening?" He asked in a low voice.

"You know don't you?" He asked in an accusing voice.

The man abruptly placed his white fan in front of his face as if he was fanning himself. "I wouldn't say it's life-threatening but what it represents... Is another matter entirely." He said in a roundabout way. "And as for your other question, let's just say I have an idea."

The orange haired teen couldn't help but shake his head at the shopkeeper's way of dodging around questions.

"Kisuke always knows more than what he's telling." Ichigo spoke up suddenly, although he wasn't entirely sure why he spoke at all since it really wasn't his business.

"It's all a matter of when he chooses to tell." He informed the blonde haired teen as he crossed his arms over his chest and leaned against the door frame.

"So you're giving me no choice then?" Axel questioned.

"I know what I'm doing. Just trust me Axel, that's all that I'm asking." Kisuke once again spoke in a more serious voice as he lowered the fan away from his face a bit.

Axel sighed heavily. "Fine." He decided, although he was still curious about whatever it was that Kisuke had to show him. Though he hadn't know the man very long, he did hold a level of respect and trust for him… After all that he's done for him, he felt that he had to.

The shopkeeper abruptly he snapped his fan shut as he spoke. "Good! Now you might as well head back inside, besides I believe it most dinner time!" His friendly persona returning in an instant. And as if on cue Ichigo's little sister Yuzu was calling for them to come and eat.

Ichigo glanced inside before looking back to the pair. "Might as well come back inside Axel, don't want the food to get cold."

"Right." Axel nodded and turned toward the house, but turned back toward Kisuke for a moment.

"... Thanks." He said with a small smile.

"Didn't think I'd last any longer without a smoke... Was on my last one." He added in almost a joking manner before turning back around.

"Guess I'll see ya when I'm allowed to leave"

Kisuke chuckle slightly as he turned and began walking away. "I'm not surprised to hear that. Oh! And just so you know I put about five packs in that bag, with how much you smoke you'll need them." The man returned in a teasing manner right before he disappeared around the corner.

xXxXx

A few days later Axel was deemed fit enough to return to Kisuke's place and was also allowed to continue going to school again. But he still had to return to the Kurosaki Clinic from time to time so that Isshin could continue to ensure that he was recovering nicely. And because of this the shopkeeper had yet to deem the teenager fit enough to show Axel the surprise that he had tucked away.

Two toned electric blue eyes snapped open and a strangled yell escaped the blonde's lips as he woke. His shoulders heaved with heavy breaths, his eyes danced around the room wildly and tiny dew drops of sweat collected on his forehead. Finally after a moment he had calmed down enough to realize it was just a dream or a nightmare rather.

"Damn it, again?" He asked frustrated and flopping back to the bed, and pressing the palms of his hands to his eyes.

"None of this makes any sense..." He mused, picking himself off the bed and moving to get ready for school.

After nudging off Kisuke's quirky attempts at cheering him up, he left the shop without so much as even having a cigarette for breakfast as was custom for him by now. He walked to school slowly and with a fogged mind, bits of the dream jumping into his thoughts here and there.

Finally after a sluggish walk here he found himself at the door of his first class. He practically dragged himself to his seat and flopped into it ungracefully.

There were a few moments silence before Axel heard, "GOOD MORNING ICHIGO!" This was quickly followed by the sound of something crashing to the floor.

"Morning Keigo..." Came a very nonchalant reply as Ichigo entered the room. "I see you're feeling better." The orange haired teen quickly spotted the blonde sitting at his desk.

"Morning Axel." He said in a friendly manner as he took his seat.

"Mmph…" Axel groaned in response, his head dropping to the table in front of him.

Ichigo raised a slight eyebrow at the new student. "Are you okay?"

"Mmhmm..." He drawled out, yawning and groggily lifting his head to glance at Ichigo for a moment only to drop it back to the desk.

Ichigo couldn't help but let out a slight chuckle. "Not much of a morning person, huh?"

"... No…" Axel answered simply, stifling another yawn.

"Didn't sleep very well..." He trailed off as a means of explanation, lifting his head once more to rub at his eyes.

"Ah... I know all too well what that's like..." He said with a slightly dark expression, which quickly changed to slight annoyance as Keigo popped into his line of sight.

"Why are you talking to him all friendly like?" The over energetic teen asked Ichigo.

"And who is he anyway? I've never seen him around here before. And I've pretty much seen anybody around here before!"

"He's a new student that joined the class while you were out sick. His name's Axel." Ichigo explained with a heavy sigh. "And maybe I am acting friendly because MAYBE he is a friend. Ever think about that?"

"WHAT?!" Keigo said with far too much emphasis.

Pinching the bridge of his nose, Ichigo let out another sigh. "Keigo... Shut up and go take your seat..." But Ichigo's words only caused the teen to go into one his distraught rants about how nobody cares about him.

Axel flinched at the sudden yelling and rubbed at his temples, but he ignored the two, trying to push away the images that kept forcing themselves into his thoughts.

Soon enough the teacher arrived and got the class to settle down. Then she began the lesson for the day. The first half of the day went by uneventful, but Ichigo did notice that Axel didn't seem to be himself. Lunch also came and went without any problems. But not too long after that the orange haired teen was abruptly struck with a wave of pain as his other half began another mental assault. He hunched forward in his seat while gripping at his head.

Already this one was much more intense than all the previous ones, the room seemed to be swimming before his eyes. He knew he had to get somewhere more private and fast. So he quietly picked himself up and headed out of the room without a word, ignoring the teacher as she called after him. Ichigo headed to the only place he could think of at the time, the school roof, and there he remained for the rest of the day. It was only when the bell rang to signal for lunch break that the pain finally began to subside.

With his hands shoved into his pockets, the blonde made his way up to the roof of the school when the lunch bell sounded off. Once on the roof he found a secluded wall and leaned up against it as he pulled out a cigarette and his lighter as it had become accustomed for him to do during lunch.

Ichigo and his friends were already up on the roof when the blonde arrived. Upon spotting movement the orange haired teen glanced over that way.

"Hey Axel," He called out to get the other's attention and once he had he continued. "The offer to sit with us still stands."

Axel glanced up at the others and let out a sigh, running a hand through his hair.

".. .Sure I guess." He replied after a moment, pushing off the wall. He let out a breath of smoke as he made his way toward the group and took a seat closer to Ichigo than anyone else but still kept his distance from everyone.

The Substitute Shinigami offered him a small smile which quickly faded into a slightly annoyed scowl as Keigo opened his mouth.

"So hey! Did you guys see Don Kanonji's new episode?" The over excited teen asked abruptly. "He was all like..." He struck a pose. "And then he was all like..." He struck another pose. "And then he..." Keigo once again struck another pose, not making much sense.

Ichigo let out a heavy sigh as he rubbed his forehead slightly at the mention of that man's name. "Did you forget Keigo? I don't like shows like that..." He said in obvious annoyance which caused the other teen to whine and complain.

"... What the hell is a Don Kanonji?" The blonde questioned under his breath, watching the conversation with slight annoyance.

Ignoring his overemotional friend, the orange haired teen glanced over to Axel. "Not what, who. Don Kanonji is a guy known for taking out 'bad spirits'." He informed the other with a slightly annoyed tone that gave the blonde the impression there was more to the story than that.

"Oh..." The blonde replied in a low voice, glancing between the orange haired teen and the hyperactive teen.

"I see." He said, catching onto Ichigo's hint.

"He's a hero!" Keigo jumped in with abruptly.

"He saves people from evil spirits! He even came here to Karakura once! But Ichigo jumped in because he wanted to be on TV really badly and got us all in trouble at school... Why couldn't we do such a cool thing together?!" He cried out in an overly dramatic upset sort of way, which only caused the orange haired teen to sigh deeply in annoyance.

Axel only sat there in silence, unsure of what to say but only glancing between the two once again. He shook his head slightly, not really wanting to know what the other was whining about this time.

The substance Shinigami leaned over slightly to Axel and spoke lowly in a voice only the blonde could hear. "Don Kanonji used to try to exercise the souls of the deceased but all he was doing was turning those souls into hollows faster. I was just trying to stop the guy from doing it again."

The blonde eyed the other for a moment before simply nodding his head and glancing back over to the other. He couldn't help but feel slightly out of place here.

At the drop of a hat, Keigo abruptly changed attitude and topic all at once. "Oh! Did you guys see the news lately?!"

Ichigo raised a slight eyebrow as he glanced back to his friend. "No, why?"

"They say that assassin guy Cain is back in Japan and they're offering a reward for his capture!" The over ecstatic teen announced as he waved his hand slightly.

"Who?" The orange haired teen couldn't help but question.

"Are you talking about the one who killed the ambassador just last year?" Uryu questioned with a raised eyebrow, suddenly pulled into the conversation.

At the mention of the name Cain, the blonde froze. _'... Why does that name seem so eerily familiar?'_ He couldn't help but think, now eyeing the hyperactive teen more closely.

"The one and the same!" The energetic teen stated as he pointed a finger at the young Quincy. "And they seem to think that he's here in Karakura Town! Can you believe it?!"

The orange haired teen raised his eyebrows as he frowned at his friend. "I don't remember that..."

"WHA?!" Keigo exclaimed as he stared at the Substitute Shinigami in disbelief. "How could you NOT have heard about it?! It was all over the news!"

"Ichigo hasn't always been the most attentive." The Quincy commented as he fixed his glasses.

The blonde's mind seemed to go blank, eyes wandering from the Quincy to Ichigo and back to Keigo.

_'... Maybe I heard about it on the news before__.__..'_ He tried to reason with himself despite the bad feeling in his gut.

_'... But that name... It sounds so familiar.__.__.'_

"Oi!" Ichigo snapped as he glared at Uryu. Then he took a moment think over the time frame and the answer hit him like a ton of bricks. That had been during the time they had been fighting Aizen.

_'How could you forget something like that?'_ An all-too-familiar voice questioned from the back of his mind, the voice was a mixture of angry and taunting. But why did 'he' sound angry? Either way, 'he' wasn't trying to mentally attack him or take over so Ichigo just ignored 'him'.

"I was very busy last year..." The orange haired teen continued to reply with a slight bit of anger.

"Yes, but that's all behind us now." Uryu said, eyeing the orange head for a moment.

Keigo continued on, completely oblivious to the small exchange. "Apparently they found him on a boat coming into the country but the guy got away! But they said on the news that they captured his contact and found out that the guy was injured! So now the police have all the hospitals looking for a guy with gunshot wounds!" He stated in his over excited way while flailing his arms around. "Just imagine the kind of money we could get for turning in a guy like that!"

"Injured or not, you'd probably be dead before you took two steps if you found him." Ichigo stated bluntly, before taking a sip of his drink.

Keigo's attitude completely changed as he dropped his head. "You're right... What was I thinking... It's probably better to avoid guys like that..."

Axel's eyes went slightly wide as he stared at Keigo. Those words replayed themselves in his mind until they morphed into the sound of the ocean, the roar of a coming storm and the groan of a vessel. Three abrupt explosions penetrated the blonde's ears, and he was seemingly thrust into a nightmare of a memory.

Pain, pain clouded the blonde's mind as he watched a hand shoot out before him and grip for a door. The door was thrown open and he felt his body, as if moving on its own accord; stagger out onto the boat deck. Fingers wrapped desperately around the railing, and a pained gasp could be heard. Through all of the confusion, the blonde finally realized that it was his hand that gripped the rail and it was he who was now forcing in a ragged breath of air. His eyes searched frantically about for an escape but they were drawn back to that very door when it was slammed up against the wall.

A dark silhouette appeared from the door, arm raised and gun gripped firmly in his hand. Before the blonde could react and before the crack of the gun even registered, a fiery hot pain shot through his chest and he stumbled back. His heels hit the edge just as the vessel's bow dipped into the oncoming waves. He felt his body being lifted from the boat and being violently tossed into the dark waters below.

The cold of the water caused a shock to run through his body as he plunged downward, the water swallowing him in a single gulp. He was propelled to the surface, but only for a second and he was once again plummeting downward. Panic started in the pit of his stomach, then it began to swell and spread throughout his body with a rapid pace.

'_Climb! Climb upwards!'_ Was the single, desperate thought running through his mind.

He clawed furiously at the heavy, seemingly unmovable walls of water, kicking his feet as he did. He broke surface once again, thrashing about to stay above the water, only to be sucked back under. A new type of panic took over him and he found himself feet, no yards away from the surface. Again he plunged upward, struggling to break surface once more but he was losing air fast. His world began to turn dark.

'_Let it take you. It will bring you to peace, to your nirvana__.__'_ A quiet, soothing voice seemed to coo from within. He felt his body slowly grow numb before falling limp and he reached for that light, yearned for that peace and he had almost found it.

His chest heaved upward as if rising from the ocean once more for air, and his eyes shot wide open all in one liquid motion. Breathing in heavy gasps, his body crumbled forward and he began coughing; it was almost as if the ocean spit him out and he was trying to release the water from his lungs.

'_Killer… Monster…. M__urderer.__'_ All of these words rang in the back of his mind, and somehow it seemed to fit.

Completely unaware of the blonde state of mind, Keigo continued on rambling whether or not anyone was actually paying attention.

Ichigo on the other hand, being the closest to Axel, quickly noticed something was off. "Axel? Are you all right?" He questioned with slight concern. "Is it your injury?"

'_Cain….'_ He thought, eyes wandering over the others, and ignoring Ichigo.

'… _Is…. Me__…'_ He thought incredulously, seemingly fine now despite the fact that he was shaking slightly. He didn't want to believe that the man Keigo had described was himself.

'_A….__ Killer__…' _

Everything seemed to move in slow motion as he watched the others around him, numb to any questioning stares. He slowly picked himself up off the ground, swaying slightly. The whole world seemed to stop as he tried to put everything into focus but nothing more came to him. The cold of the water was just as crisp and striking as the pain in his chest, but all other memories were nonexistent.

'_Is it…__ True?'_ He couldn't help but question himself.

'… _Am I a… Killer?'_ His eyes wandered over the others once more.

'_It doesn't make sense, and yet it fits perfectly…. __And it's all I have to go off of…'_

Axel suddenly felt the weight of a hand on his shoulder and it belonged to a certain orange haired teen. When the blonde had failed to respond to Ichigo he had picked himself up and moved over to the other teen. "Hey... Are you okay?" He questioned once again with a deep frown upon his face.

Axel glanced over at Ichigo.

_'He's... Just a kid__...__' _He thought, glancing back over at the others momentarily.

_'... And so are the others... And so am I... Only one thing that sets us all apart__.__..' _His thoughts trailed off.

_'This isn't right__.__' _He couldn't help but think, pulling away from Ichigo.

_'... Their innocent, and yet here I stand before them, trying to be one of them when it's so painfully clear now... That I'm not like them... I don't deserve to be treated as if I was__…__' _

"I need to leave..." He spoke up in a low voice finally, pocketing his hands and turning around.

_'I need to see Kisuke... He knows something and I NEED to know if this is true__.__'_ He balled his hands within his pockets and began to leave.

"Is something wrong Axel?" The Substitute Shinigami tried once again to question the blonde. "Is it Keigo? I know he talks a lot and can easily get on a lot of people's nerves, but he's not a bad guy." Then he heard a slight amused laugh from the back of his mind which caused Ichigo's eyes narrowed in slight suspicion as another possibility occurred to him.

"Or is it... Something else? Something involving the things we talked about the other night perhaps?" He questioned the teen lowly.

_'Hah hahah!'_ A low chuckle rang in the back of the blonde's head.

_'Go on... Why do..n't ya... te..ll 'im... your a k..ill..er__…__'_ A snake like voice hissed, although it was broken up.

"Shut up!" The blonde snapped in a low voice in reaction.

"Why don't you fucking disappear like earlier... I thought I got rid of you!"

_'Heh heh hahahahaha!'_ The creepy voice burst into laughter. _'You..ll... nev... ver... ge..t... rid.. of me!' _

"FUCK OFF!" He growled loudly, unintentionally the comment looked as if it was directed at Ichigo.

The orange haired teen took a step back in slight surprise at the abrupt hostility. _'Heh... Such anger and all you're trying to do is to help...' _Came 'his' voice in a taunting way from the back of Ichigo's mind. _'Are you just gonna stand there and take that kinda attitude?'_

Ichigo couldn't help but twitch, although more in annoyance to his inner hollow's words than anything. But those words did effect his state of mind and attitude just enough to make him respond angrily in return.

"What the hell is your problem?!" He snapped at the blonde. "All I've ever done is either try to be nice or try to help! And what do I get in response?! I get attitude, cursed at, yelled at! And for no God damn good reason!" He stated in frustration as he threw his arms into the air.

"I wasn't yelling at you!" The blonde snapped in response, turning toward the orange head.

"... Now stay out of it... Before I do something I'll regret…" He said in a dangerously low voice in an attempt to scare off the other.

_'He has no idea he's talking to a... A killer__…__'_ He couldn't help but think as he turned his back on the orange head once more.

_'No! I'm not a killer... I can't be... Cain, this can't be right__…__'_ He tried to persuade himself.

_'I need answers and Kisuke has them__…__'_ He decided, beginning to leave once again.

Ichigo couldn't help but frown deeply at the other's words, his anger quickly subsiding. But it wasn't fear he was feeling, it was curiosity.

_'Is it truly possible that he's a Visored like me? I keep seeing signs that could very well suggest it but...' _He had to make sure, he had to ask Axel.

"If you weren't yelling at me... Then who were you..." He trailed off at that moment to grip his face with one hand.

Unfortunately for Ichigo, for a brief moment he had dropped his guard slightly and his hollow chose that moment to try to strike. _'I want what's mine!'_

"Ichigo?" Questioned the normally quiet Chad and the tall teen couldn't help but frown deeply when he didn't get a reply. The blonde didn't seem to even hear the orange head and continued on walking until he was out of sight.

"...Ichigo, is something the matter?" Uryu questioned knowingly, wanting to see if Ichigo would confess up to the fact that he was having problems with his hollow.

The orange haired teen gripped his face a little bit more upon hearing the questioning voices, suddenly reminded of the others' presences. "I... I have to go..." He said instead of answering the question before quickly departing from the area.

"What's up with them?" Keigo questioned in an oblivious sort of way as he glanced toward Chad and Uryu, to which the former merely shrugged his shoulders.

xXxXx

"Kisuke?" The blonde questioned as he searched about the shop almost frantically.

_'I have to know... Is it really possible? ... I can't really be Cain can I?'_ He couldn't help but think.

_'No... It has to be some sort of coincidence... Right?'_

"You're home early!" Came the shopkeeper's friendly voice suddenly from right behind the teen.

The blonde nearly jumped at the voice and turned around to face the other. An almost surprised look crossed his face for a brief moment since he wasn't expecting Kisuke to appear behind him, but it soon faded away.

"...Yeah…" He dismissed the fact that he came back early.

_'Home? Who is he kidding... This is NOT my home.__.__.'_

"How much do you know?" He questioned, deciding to test the waters, see if he couldn't get the man to give anything away.

"What do you mean?" Kisuke questioned in an innocent sort of way.

"Don't play dumb with me Kisuke... It can't have just been a coincidence that you found me." Axel said in a stern voice, he was desperate for answers and he wasn't going to let the man's quirky personality get in the way of his finding those answers.

"Why were you perusing... Cain?" He tried, thinking that if what he thought was correct then there would have also had to have been a reason as to how he found him. If Cain was traveling in secret, then there's no way that he could have just stumbled upon him… Right? There had to be an explanation.

The blonde's eyes went slightly wide when another thought occurred to him. _'... What if he knew this entire time... And this is just some ploy to get information from me... To get me to own up to... To everything so they'd have proof__.__'_ He couldn't help but think a bit paranoid.

_'He could be some sort of undercover cop... And I've fallen straight into his trap__.__..'_

The man grew a little bit serious at the blonde's question, although his voice still held his almost childish curiosity. "What would give you the idea that I was pursuing someone like Cain?"

Axel took an almost defensive step back, hand instinctively wrapping around the dagger hidden in his pocket.

_'He's hiding something... I just have to get him to speak__.__' _He thought, eyes darting here and there, analyzing the room for a quick escape if he needed one.

_'People are afraid of Cain... So if I act like a killer__…__'_ His thoughts trailed off as he pulled the dagger out, eyes never leaving the other.

"Maybe I didn't make myself clear old man." He said in a low voice.

"Why... Were you… Perusing me?" He questioned, pronouncing every word carefully.

_'If I play along as if I'd known the entire time... Maybe I can get him to spill the beans__.__'_

Upon hearing those words Kisuke finally dropped the act and eyed the teen for a moment.

"You're not fooling anyone Axel." He stated simply in a very serious tone, then he seemed to abruptly disappear for the teen's eyes. A sudden hand placed upon the teen's shoulder from behind was the only indication of where the man had gone.

"And if you think you can scare me with threats than I should warn you, I'm a former Shinigami Captain. And before you ask, there are normally only 12 Captains at any given time among the Shinigami and they are picked because they are the strongest." He paused for a moment to allow his words to sink in.

"In short, if I wanted you dead you'd already be dead. And if I wanted information... Well I'm the founder of research and development in the world the Shinigami. If I wanted information, I would simply create a machine to extract it." He informed the teen bluntly, then he suddenly patted Axel's shoulder as he pursued walked past the blonde.

"So don't go around thinking that I plan to kill or extract information from you in your sleep or something." The man stated in a much more relaxed manner. "I saw someone in need, so I helped. Simple as that."

Axel stood there numbly for a moment, unsure of what think... And then it hit him.

'_So… __Then it's true..?' _He swallowed, losing his grip on his dagger.

_'I…. AM Cain.__..__'_ He thought numbly, his dagger clacking to the ground. His gaze slowly moved over to the other who was walking away.

"...Why?" He voiced the only question that came to mind. Despite the others swimming around in the back of his head, this one seemed more important at the moment.

"You must have known who I am... What I've done... And yet you insist on helping me anyway?"

Kisuke paused to glance back over his shoulder. "I know enough to know that the you that you are right now is not the you that you used to be. So ask yourself this, what's more important? Regarding your actions of the past. Or allowing yourself to change for the better in the here and now as well as for the future." The man fell silent for a moment before his friendly smile began to spread across his face once again. "Besides, everyone deserves a second chance."

"... I can't just let this go Kisuke." Axel spoke up after remaining silent.

"I'm not a different person... I only forgot who I am, and now that I know..." He trailed off and shook his head.

"I just... I can't simply just drop it like this, I can't pretend like nothing I've ever done happened... I can't just keep pretending I'm a foreign exchange student. It isn't right Kisuke, and it isn't fair... Not to me and not to anyone else." He paused for a long moment.

"...You don't know what it's like to watch others, to see a family or friends interacting and wonder if you have a family out there somewhere that's worried about you, or friends even. Something tells me that's not the case for me, but I need to know. I need to know what happened, where I come from, if there's someone out there waiting for me to come home... If I had a home..." He trailed off for a moment.

"So... Please, if you know anything else, if you're hiding something, tell me." He said in an almost weak pleading voice.

Kisuke's gaze softened slightly and a frown crossed his face, an unusual expression for a man that's always so cheery.

"Put your dagger away and come with me." He stated simply before looking back forward and continuing on at a casual pace, allowing the teen enough time to catch up. Axel stared at Kisuke in bewilderment for a moment.

_'... Does this mean he knows something else? He has to... Right?'_ He thought hopefully, wanting desperately to find the answers he's been looking for. He slowly picked the dagger off the ground and sheathed it before pocketing it once more and following Kisuke, now with a bit of hope, curiosity and even a slight bit of fear.

The former Shinigami Captain led him to a back hallway that seemed to be nothing more than a dead-end. But the man kept walking as if something was there.

"Uh... Kisuke, this is a dead-end." Axel stated obviously. "If this is some kind of stupid joke or metaphor by showing me the wall... It isn't working."

"Come along now!" The shopkeeper said cheerfully, his good mood had obviously returned. But the moment he had reached the wall instead of walking into it, the man seemed to pass through it like a ghost.

Axel immediately stopped in his tracks and stared dumbfounded at the wall.

"... Kisuke...?" He questioned hesitantly.

Upon hearing his name, as well as the fact that the teen had paused, the shopkeeper poked his head through the wall as if it wasn't there.

"Are you coming or not?" He questioned in an innocent sort of way and in reaction Axel's eyes nearly bugged out of his head at the sight.

"Wha?! I'm not a fuckin ghost like you! I can't walk through walls!" He yelled spastically, nearly completely losing his cool.

Kisuke couldn't help but chuckle slightly as he abruptly reached out and grabbed the teen by the arm.

"Come along!" He said with a smile, then before Axel could react he moved backwards through the wall, pulling the teen with him.

Axel ended up stumbling backward from the yank, nearly landing on his ass but he caught himself before he did.

"... Why did that work?" He questioned, flabbergasted and staring at the wall and then glanced at Kisuke.

Once again the man couldn't help but chuckle. "Because the wall is an illusion. I'm a scientist remember?" He stated with a bright smile.

"Right now my soul form is residing within what's called a gigai. It allows me to interact more with the world of the living and those without spiritual power." He informed the teen as he turned and began walking across the room that Axel now found himself in.

"And so because of that I can't pass through solid objects, just like you. So in order to keep my more 'sensitive' merchandise safe I keep it in rooms with a false wall like this one." He continued on to explain.

"It's much easier than having to leave my gigai every time I need something. And it's a great way to hide my more expensive items!" He finished off with, a bright smile on his face.

"It's a good idea, wouldn't you say?" He questioned the blonde teen as he stopped by a pile of boxes.

"... Right..." The blonde said, watching the other's every move. "So… What are we doing in here exactly?"

"We're here for this." He stated as he placed his hand on top of a box that seemed a lot less dusty then the surrounding ones.

"What is it?" Axel asked, eyeing the box with a bit of suspicion.

"This box contains the items and clothing you had on you at the time that I found you." Kisuke stated with a serious tone, his expression neutral and void of his usual cheerful attitude.

"Some of it was severely damaged and most of it was covered in blood or was soaking wet. But I fixed, cleaned up and dried off what I could." The man went on to say as he picked the box up and placed it on the only table within the room.

"This is what I wanted to show you after you had more time to heal. But I suppose some things are unavoidable."

Axel walked over to the box and eyed it momentarily before opening it. Slowly and carefully he pulled out the first thing his hands landed on; a mask. It was a porcelain white mask which was completely barren of any markings besides a black X over the lips and a few stray cracks. He stood there, simply staring at the mask for a long while, his mind running rampant. He set the mask aside and pulled out the dark clothing, feeling them as he looked them over, it was so familiar and yet foreign to him all at once. Setting the clothing to the side he moved onto whatever else was in the box and pulled out a gun among a few other weapons.

He swallowed hard, eyes fixated on the small pistol in his hands. Whether it was the feel of the cold metal in his hand or just the sight of the gun itself, he didn't know but simply holding it gave him chills. He turned it this way and that in his hands before finally loading it. He held it out before him and thumbed the hammer, aiming the gun at the wall.

His eyes went wide momentarily and the wall seemed to disappear. What stood there instead was an unknown man, wide eyes, slack jawed and with a bullet in his head. Within moments he collapsed to the ground at the blonde's feet, drawing his attention to the ground. All around him were corpses painted in red. His hands shook as he looked about his surroundings to find only red, then dropped the gun and it clattered to the table.

"No…" He said under his breath, slamming his hands against the table.

"NO!" He yelled it this time, violently pushing the gun off the table, sending it crashing into the wall. He stayed like that for a long moment, hunched over the table, nails digging into the wood. Then he sighed heavily and stood up straight.

"That's it?" He questioned in a low voice.

"No wallet, no id, phone... Anything? That's all there is?" He questioned unbelievably.

"That's it." Kisuke suddenly spoke up in response; he had remained quiet up to this point.

"Anything else you might have had was either not on your person at the time or was washed away."

Axel's lips fell into a frown at those words. "You're sure you don't know anything else?" He asked once again just to be sure.

The man let out a slight sigh as he crossed his arms over his chest. "Honestly, all I know is that there is this group out there purposely going around killing off certain individuals. For what reasons I have no idea. But I have heard rumors that they were beginning to use people with spiritual powers to do their dirty work. So I decided look into it." The man unfolded his arms, placing one hand on his hip while the other hand came up to rub the back of his head.

"Unfortunately I haven't discovered much... The group is very secretive and very elusive." He admitted a bit sheepishly. "But..." He trailed off.

"So... You think I belong to this group?" Axel questioned, eyes narrowing down on Kisuke.

"... But what?" He added in shortly after.

"Honestly it can't be a coincidence." Kisuke stated as he crossed his arms once again.

"I was able to hack into one of their systems for a brief moment before getting kicked out. Not too long after that I felt a spike of an unknown spiritual energy. And when I went to investigate the source, I found you."

"... Spiritual energy... So I...?" Axel mused unsure of what to make of that but decided to shake it off for now. He fell silent for a moment before speaking up.

"Kisuke," Axel addressed the other in a very serious tone.

"Gigais are basically empty shells right? Not alive unless being used by a spiritual being?" He questioned, an idea forming in his mind.

"Hmmm?" The shopkeeper hummed as he tilted his head to the side slightly. "That's correct. Why do you ask?"

"I need you to help me with something." He said suddenly.

"Oh? And what would that be?" Kisuke couldn't help but inquire, his curiosity getting the better of him.

"I need as many gigais as you can get me." He said without explanation.

"Why would you need that many?" He questioned with a slight frown.

Axel let out a heavy sigh at that question and ran his hand through his hair. "I was a… A hit man… An assassin." He said a bit gravely.

"So, there has to be some sort of contact that I was going to meet up with. I'm going to find them… To draw them out." He explained as he placed everything back in the box and closed it.

Kisuke eyed him silently for a moment before speaking again. "By staging murders, am I correct? Are you sure you want to do this? There's a chance that nothing good will come of it."

"Not only that but I'm going to draw the media into it... I'm going to send a message... That Cain is alive and here in Karakura Town." He said with a slight mischievous smirk before a serious look washed over his face.

"I NEED to know about my past Kisuke, I need to know how I became what I did." He paused for a moment.

"And besides, you don't know where they're located do you?" He questioned, pausing for a brief moment.

"Help me pull this off and I get you the info you're looking for. It's a win win situation; we both find the answers to our questions. By what you've gathered on these people already along with the fragments of memories I've gotten back, my guess is that I'm not working for them by choice." He paused again, tapping the side of the box in thought for a moment.

"So, it isn't like I would be committing treason against my own people... Besides... I kind of like it here…" He added in as an afterthought.

"So, what do you say, do we have a deal? You help me figure out my past and I'll get you on the inside of this group's operations."

The shopkeeper remained silent for a moment before letting out a defeated sigh. He then lifted a hand to his hat, a slight smile crossing his face. "And I'm guessing you're too stubborn to back down." It was a statement not a question. "All right, but on one condition."

"What?" Axel questioned, raising a slight eyebrow, but underneath he was relieved that the shop keeper was willing to go with his plan.

"We wait until you're fully healed before beginning this plan." The man bargained with the teen. "Besides that gives me the opportunity to prepare the gigais, we need them as realistic as possible after all!" He said in an almost too cheerful manner.

Axel sighed at that, almost knowing that Kisuke would make him wait. As much as he itched to find the answers to his questions, he was happy just to know that Kisuke was going to help him.

"Alright, alright, we'll wait. Do we have a deal?"

"That we do!" The shopkeeper said cheerfully, his friendly manner once again in full swing.

"We can leave those items in here for now if you like." He stated as he nodded his head toward the box. "Better here where no one will see them then somewhere where someone might accidentally find them."

"Right." Axel said in agreement and set the box back where Kisuke had picked it up earlier, although a bit reluctant to part with the only clues to his past he had.

"They'll be safe here." The man reassured him as if reading his thoughts. "Why don't we go get a snack?! I'm sure you have lots questions for me now that you know a little bit more about me." Kisuke said as he began heading toward the exit of the room.

"Actually, I am a little curious about how this whole Shinigami thing works... And besides, I could really go for a smoke." He said with a slight smile as he followed after Kisuke.

The former Shinigami Captain returned the smile with one of his own. "By the way, I've come to enjoy your presence here as well." He stated as he placed a hand on the teen's shoulder as they proceeded down the hallway together, exchanging small conversation all the while.

* * *

And that's it for this chapter. By the way, one thing I forgot got to say in the last two chapters….. MaskedxMayhem and I will do our best to keep characters in character as much as we can. Also we are still looking for a beta reader if anyone is interested. Until next time! R&R please!


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